Business Clean Up Day

Looking for a way to help Clean Up your business?

Registrations are now open for Business Clean Up Day on Tuesday 24 February 2009. To register just call 1800 CUA DAY (282 329) or go to www.cleanup.org.au.

Businesses can either register a Clean Up site in their local area or become a Clean Up Australia Day Business Supporter.

It’s a great opportunity for businesses to help improve the quality of the environment and work towards reducing waste – as well as being a great team building exercise.

Taking environmental action is not only socially responsible but it also makes business sense. So put your hand up and get involved - after all, if you don’t help Clean Up Australia, who will?

Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme

There is a common myth that the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) announced recently by our federal government is only the concern of big business. This is incorrect; the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) will affect every organisation, business and individual, no matter what size.

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) works by mandating that every organisation or facility that emits a significant amount of greenhouse gas has to report and purchase a permit for every tonne of CO2-e it releases. Organisations that meet the threshold of 125 kilotonnes as a whole, or 25 kilotonnes of CO2-e, will be captured. This includes most electricity generators, mining companies, large property trusts and other ASX 200 companies.

As compliance parties, organisations must take the requirements of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) seriously. Failure to do so can result in fines to the CEO itself, albeit the risk is small if you understand and follow the rules.

If a company does not comply, the risks are great. High energy users could see the cost of permits passed on to them as the scheme allows compliance parties to do so on existing contracts, resulting in a great increase on the cost of providing goods and services. If an organisation has existing contracts, they may no longer be financially viable as increased costs may take up the entire margin.

Companies with high energy consumption and low margins should carefully assess the cost of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and how it will affect their business going forward. In the worst case, contracts or previous business plans may no longer be viable.

At $20.00 per tonne, the cost of electricity for the average resident in NSW will rise nearly 10%, or a little over 2c per kWh; but for businesses who are generally charged a cheaper rate the percentage may be far greater.

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) presents both opportunities and risks for organisations. Companies that are well prepared, understand the cost increases and the risks in exitsing contracts and have determined their Marginal Cost of Abatement Curve, stand to benefit as they mitigate the financial impacts of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and become more price competitive. Companies that are not prepared risk having contracts becoming unviable; having great cost increases for energy and energy intensive products and, in the long run, risk going broke.

For more information about the CPRS, please visit www.noco2.com.au/web/page/cprs.

Garnaut’s draft report on climate change

Last week, Professor Ross Garnaut released his draft report on climate change and its impacts on the Australian economy. The report provides details of the proposed Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which is due to be implemented by 2010.

The report concluded that Australia has much to lose – because it is so dry, it will be hit worse by climate change than other developing countries; and it will most likely see the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef. The situation requires a global agreement, including China — but it will happen only if rich countries lead the way. Australia has to be part of that.

Some main findings of the report are:

• By 2050, unmitigated climate change would mean major declines in agricultural production across much of Australia, including a 50 per cent reduction in irrigated agriculture in the Murray-Darling Basin. Garnaut’s solution for this is to reduce greenhouse gas levels by 90% by mid-century.
• By 2100, irrigated agriculture in the Murray Darling Basin would decline by 92 per cent.
• Early economic modelling results of readily measurable unmitigated climate change for middle of the road outcomes on temperatures and decline in rainfall indicate that climate change would wipe off around 4.8 per cent of Australia’s projected GDP, around 5.4 per cent of projected household consumption, and 7.8 per cent from real wages by 2100 (see .
• Business must help tackle climate change by reducing emissions (see http://business.theage.com.au/business-must-tackle-climate-change-20080706-32k1.html)
• The cheapest way to tackle climate change is to set up an emissions trading system quickly, and on the widest possible front — including petrol. Excluding petrol, by definition, will cost us even more in some other area.

The final Garnaut report will be released in September.

For more information, or to read the full report, please visit http://www.garnautreview.org.au/domino/Web_Notes/Garnaut/garnautweb.nsf

Visit the Australian Carbon Trading Expo & Conference!

This Melbourne conference is Australia's only b2b trade show and conference focussing on the issues of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, global warming and the impact on the way we do business.

Co-located with Australia's premier Occupational Health & Safety Show - Safety In Action which attracts over 10,000 OH&S professionals, from a range of industries including - agriculture, forestry & environment, building & construction, emergency services, defence, energy, engineering, government (federal, state and local), hotel & hospitality, manufacturing, machinery & equipment, mining, pertro-chemical, IT, transport, warehousing.

Visit Rob, Sam and Gavin at the Australian Carbon Trading Expo and Conference at the Carbon Reduction Institute stand - and stay tuned for Rob's speech on Thursday!

For more information on the Expo visit their website.

Climate Change Action Nights

The new Climate Change Action Night is a monthly event organised by the Agincourt Hotel and the Carbon Reduction Institute to raise awareness about climate change within the business community.

The Climate Change Action Nights are for businesses wanting to:

• Learn what actions they can take to lower their carbon footprint
• Educate staff about global warming
• Exchange ideas about climate change related business issues with other businesses
• Network and expand into new markets
• Take immediate action on climate change

Set in Sydney’s Agincourt Hotel, Australia’s first carbon neutral hotel, the popular Climate Change Action Night is a free event with complimentary carbon neutral drinks and snacks. Start time is 6pm.

You can sign up using the online registration form.

Greenpages Australia launch 2008 Lifestyle Edition with Eco Runway Show

Sydney, November 9th: GreenPages CEO and founder Katie Patrick launched her GreenPages 2008 magazine – Australia’s leading environmental directory with more than 6000 sustainable products and services.

For the launch, the 27-year-old environmental engineer put together the first eco-runway show with leading fashion designers Akira, Camilla Franks and Lisa Gorman among a small elite group of 11 eco-conscious designers who only use organic fabric, natural fibres, recycled silk and vegetable dyes in their clothes.

Patrick came up with the idea after she’d realised that she could not buy an organic skivvy anywhere in the city.

"Fashion is lagging behind the green movement. To convince them to be more eco-friendly, it is important to make going green fun and vibrant," Patrick says.

The greatest hurdle to the green movement in the fashion industry is cost – buying organic textiles will increase the cost of clothes by around 35%. But increasingly trends are showing that consumers are willing to spend a little extra for products that are environmentally friendly.

The Eco Runway Fashion Show was an overwhelming success with 400 people from the fashion industry, the environmental community and the media treated to fine organic food and beverages while enjoying the casual, formal, sexy and sometimes funky fashion manufactured from sustainable fabric sources, by some of Australia’s most innovative and environmentally-conscious designers.

About GreenPages
GreenPages is the only comprehensive, Australian-owned ‘green’ industry media organization delivering a national magazine, directory and website driving the international growth and demand for sustainable business in the wider market. GreenPages is dedicated to being the number one provider of expert information for all people, businesses and industries in the transition towards a green world.

With offices in Sydney and Melbourne, GreenPages is Australia’s central point for leading data and factual based information on Green living. GreenPages engages with the sustainable community and offers a communal approach tying business to each other and businesses to the consumer.

GreenPages CEO and founder Katie Patrick is the driving force behind the company. She has twice been asked to meet with Al Gore and sits on a number of environmental boards. She has her finger on the pulse of all environmental and sustainability issues that are now of such vital concern.

GreenPages Australia is living proof of an Australian dream turned into reality. From humble beginnings, Katie Patrick; an environmental engineer, turned a one woman show into a company which now employs over 20 full time staff.

Katie is currently working on developing GreenPages into a global online village, directory and news hub for the green generation throughout the USA, UK and Europe.

For more information please visit www.greenpagesaustralia.com.au

Waste Not

By Gavin Pereira**

Climate change, and in fact many of the world’s other problems, can be pinned down to 2 key factors; population growth and the use of fossil fuels. The former has put a massive strain on the planet’s resources, and the projections for 9 Billion by 2050 are worrying as much from a climate change as a resource security perspective.

It is within this context that the Carbon Reduction Institute will favour carbon credits and carbon reduction measures with respect to resource conservation. Since inception, our tag-line in regards to our offset choice is that “The Cleanest Kilowatt is the One Not Used” – we favour energy efficiency projects as they recognize that energy, like all of the planet’s resources increasingly need to be viewed from within the prism of sustainability.

Recycling and energy efficiency are our two favourite forms of carbon reduction, as they are do-able in the short term, avoid emissions, preserve resources and save money. There’s no point in planting trees to offset carbon emissions if you aren’t recycling your paper…

Whilst people are aware of the emissions reductions that can be achieved from energy efficiency, many are unaware of the savings that can be achieved from recycling. For example, if an office can halve its landfill waste from 2 wheelie bins to 1 wheelie bin per week, then it can save over 4 Tonnes of greenhouse gas over a year! If the company were NoCO2, then this would lead to a $52 annual saving in its cost for neutrality.

Here are some of the facts:

· If recycled, each aluminium can saves 767 grams of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. If each household recycled one extra aluminium can every week, this would lead to an annual reduction of over 295,000 Tonnes of greenhouse gas per year. This is because recycled aluminium requires 95% less energy to manufacture
· Recycling a case of VB bottles saves 7.5 kilograms of greenhouse gas
· Ensuring that a small old car is recycled can save more than the average per capita carbon footprint of the world; more than 4 tonnes of greenhouse emissions.
· Recycling every copy of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph would save 4500 tonnes. Individuals who let their newspapers go to landfill will unnecessarily cause 350 kilograms of extra greenhouse gas each year.

So start recycling and help solve climate change!

**Gavin Pereira is the Environmental Director of the Carbon Reduction Institute and a Photovoltaic and Solar Energy Engineer. Among his proudest achievements was his first sip from a carbon neutral beer from a reusable schooner glass at the Agincourt Hotel.

Manage your Carbon Emissions

Welcome to my carbon mangement blog. Another one, you will think. But as you read on, you will learn to appreciate this blog as it priviliges practical tips, science and education above paralizing progaganda.

This site is not concerned with whether climate change is real or not; it rather aims at sharing the practicalities I learn on the job every day that teach me to be more climate conscious and respectful towards our environment.

This site is for everybody who want to do something other than talking about global warming. Take action now! This page was set up to point you into the right direction.