More EV chargers in Sydney and not before time
EVX was thrilled this week to win funding to roll out around half of the New South Wales governments planned $2.8 million EV charging infrastructure program for 436 kerb side charging spaces.
Just in time, perhaps. The state government might have been prompted to action by the recent article in The AFR that bemoaned a mess of wires rolling out across footpaths from some people’s homes in crowded inner city suburbs, as they opted to use their electricity to charge their cars, rather than source public systems.
“I don’t know how legal it is, but no one has complained,” one such resident said in the article, while another said finding charging stations was one of the reasons he chose a hybrid instead of a fully electric car.
EVX chief executive Andrew Forster said charging was still a “big challenge for EV drivers in some of Sydney’s most well-established and densely populated suburbs.”
EVX developed the infrastructure to meet the technological limitations that utility providers and local governments face in rolling out EV charging infrastructure sustainably while adhering to local regulations.
The company said its pole chargers use AC power with smart charging capabilities and have a low impact on the local electricity grid, can be rolled out at speed, and can be installed on existing utility poles with no disruptive civil works.
Feds underpin Cromwell’s new Canberra building
Property developer Cromwell has entered into a pre-lease agreement with the federal government that underpins a new 19,800 square metres office building at Barton, four kilometres south of the Canberra CBD. The building will be in the parliamentary precinct, allowing quick access to other departments.
The six storey facility (whose use has not been disclosed) will be designed to target 6 star NABERS Energy and 5 star Green Star rating. The lease is for 15 year with a five year option.
Cromwell owns a number of buildings with government tenants, including its 1970s McKell Building in the Sydney CBD, which was recently electrified.
Lisbon launches return and earn KeepCup scheme
The City of Lisbon, along with the Portuguese hospitality association AHRESP, has engaged reverse vending manufacturers TOMRA to launch a city-wide reusable cup system, which will see all coffee now served in keep cups.
Consumers will pay a deposit for a Keep Cup with their coffee or drink and will be able to return it and earn their deposit back at a collection point by simply tapping their card or phone. The system includes digital tracking, cup collection, sanitation and redistribution.
The city will be the first European capital to introduce the system to its city and expects the scheme will slash plastic waste, emissions and tackle the 25,000 cups used across the city’s entertainment areas. The council admits that despite cups being sold as reusable, there was no system in place to collect, clean and recirculate cups until now.
The system is now in place with two return kiosks, but a full rollout of the system for 17 return points is planned for October 2025. The manufacturers had demonstrated a similar return and earn scheme for takeaway cups last month at the Reuse Economy Expo in Paris after a successful pilot in Denmark.
Jobs
It’s interesting to read that Catherine Bremner has joined the board of Accounting for Nature. Bremner came to our attention several years ago in Australia and took part in our Salon in London on green finance, while she was with ANZ.
Since then, she’s notched up roles as chief strategy officer at Impax Asset Management, where she led corporate and digital strategies, including data and AI integration. She’s also directed the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s international energy program and £2.5 billion ($5.13 billion) climate finance portfolio. But that’s not all: there’s been senior roles at ANZ as global head of environmental sustainability, Low Carbon Australia, the UK Carbon Trust, and the UK Met Office.
Wonder when she’ll be back in Aus.
Alison Potter has joined professional services firm HDR as design principal in its Melbourne studio.
Potter previously held a number of senior leadership positions, including principal at Hassell and Grimshaw. Prior to that, she held roles as an architect at Noxon Giffen, Grimshaw, Foster and Partners and Williams Burton Architects.
Environmentally sustainable design consultancy Efficient Living has appointed Alistair Coulstock as its associate.
Prior to the new role, Coulstock was executive consultant, sustainability lead for TSA Riley. Starting off as a mechanical engineer, Coulstock had previously held roles as the technical director of Mott MacDonald, director of KPMG Australia, principal at Cundall, and associate at Aurecon.