Media Press Release August 14, 2008
Federal Minister announces national Small Wind Turbine Test CentreFederal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has announced funding of$1.05 million for the Research Institute for Sustainable Energy (RISE) at Murdoch University to build a national SmallWind Turbine Test Centre. The Small Wind Turbine Test Centre will be fundedunder the Australian Government’s Renewable Remote Power Generation Program. Minister Garrett said the Small Wind Turbine Test Centre would develop a stronger small wind turbine industry in Australia. “There was increasing interest in small wind turbines for homes and farms, particularly in remote areas,” he said. “This testing facility will provide consumer confidence in wind technology as well as enhancing our understanding of the potential for this type of technology, not only in remote areas but more broadly as a means of reducing energy consumption and carbon pollution. The Rudd Labor Government is committed to produce 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and this project will make a real contribution to the achievement of that target”.
Murdoch University’s small wind turbine expert Dr Jonathan Whale, who sparked the idea for the Centre, said the funding meant the University could lead the way in national standards development, training and accreditation for small wind turbine systems. “Murdoch is ideally positioned to lead the way in this area given its 10-year experience in testing wind turbines and links with international standards and testing agencies,” DrWhale said. “As the only National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accredited laboratory for renewable energy power converters (inverters) in Australia, the new Centre will be the only one of its kind in Australia and will be a one-stop-shop for wind turbine and inverter combinations in terms of certification, standards and training. The timing of the new Centre is important considering the rapidly increasing interest in small wind turbines for domestic use”.
The Centre will test wind turbines up to 50kW in accordance withrecommended testing practices being developed by the International Energy Agency and implement wind turbine labelling similar to the Energy Rating Labels of household electrical appliances. This will ensure wind turbines satisfy the needs of the customer in terms of safety, performance and noise. Media contact: Freya Contos (08) 93601289, f.contos@murdoch.edu.au.
FUTURE ENERGY NEWS BRIEF July 2008The reputation of Future Energy within the Australian renewable energy sector was further enhanced this week by the achievement of important milestones in two of its Victorian wind farm projects. On Friday 25 July, over 150 local residents and media crowded into Daylesford Town Hall for the launch of the Hepburn Wind Share Offer. Hepburn Wind isAustralia’s first community owned wind farm development, and the HepburnWind co-operative is aiming to raise $9.5m through the offer to fully fund the project. A further $1m has been provided by Sustainability Victoria under the State Government Renewable Energy Support Fund scheme. Since the idea was born over three years ago, Future Energy has funded and managed the project on behalf of the co-operative, and recently signed contracts to transfer ownership of the park to Hepburn Wind. For David Shapero, CEO of Future Energy, the launch was reason to celebrate.“It’s taken five years of extraordinarily hard work to get to this point. Everything from finding the right site, negotiating with the landowner, getting the community on board and involved, dealing with the planning permit and VCAT appeals processes, conducting environmental and wind analyses, and finalising the share offer documentation. The light on the horizon has been moving towards us slowly but we’ve never been as close to realising our dream as we are now.” The other exciting news involving Future Energy was the decision by the SurfCoast Council on 22 July 2008 to approve an application for a wind farm on
Mount Pollock, near Winchelsea in south-western Victoria. Future Energy has assisted International Power with the planning and community engagement for the proposed 14-turbine wind farm which is expected to produce enough energy for about 14,000 homes. For more information about Future Energy and these stories please contact info@futureenergy.com.au or go to www.futureenergy.com.au.
Strong response to Share Offer... have you applied yet?
Since the launch of our Share Offer at Daylesford Town Hall on 25 July, almost 1000 people have downloaded the Share Offer document, and more registrations are being received every day. Registrations of interest are great, but to build Australia's first community owned wind farm, registrations need to become investments. If you, a friend, or family member are looking for an attractive long term return on your money, and care about creating a sustainable future for the next generation of Australians, then this may be an ideal investment for you.
The Share Offer document is available for download from www.hepburnwind.com.au or write to Hepburn Wind, PO Box 225, Daylesford, Vic 3460 to request a printed copy.
SCA Hygiene Australasia concerned over Government ‘Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme’ Media Release July 2008 The Australian Government’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (‘CPRS’) could promote carbon leakage from the Australian pulp and paper industry and restrict future investment unless it is altered, says SCA Hygiene Australasia, a leading manufacturer of tissue and hygiene products. While SCA supports the CPRS and applauds the Australian Government’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions, it is concerned that the current proposal will reduce the Australian pulp and paper industry’s ability to remain competitive against imports. SCA President Paul Thompson said “We believe the introduction of the CPRS could result in worse environmental impacts within our industry because it will create greater reliance on products produced outside Australia in countries not likely to be subject to a carbon charge in the foreseeable future. SCA is a company which is very committed to sourcing and producing its products with as little impact on the environment as possible. However, the same cannot be said of many of the products which are imported from Asia, some of which are alleged to be from illegal or unethical sources and from companies with poor environmental records. In fact, the world would be worse off from a carbon and forestry perspective if production is transferred to Asia and this would be counter productive to the stated aims of CPRS.”
For further information or to arrange an interview please contact Michelle Robertson, Communications
Manager, on 0404 480 438 or michelle.robertson@sca.com.
THE ECO DIRECTORY
Visit http://www.ecodirectory.com.au to find your next sustainable purchase. EcoDirectory is Australia’s guide to sustainable living and finding just about any product featuring advice on how to be more sustainable.
ORIGIN ENERGY
ORIGIN PRODUCTS RATED FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD BY GREEN ELECTRICITY WATCH 2007 REPORT
Australia’s number one green energy retailer Origin Energy has welcomed the 2007 Green Electricity Watch report, which has ranked three of the company’s green energy products in first, second and third positions. Origin received the top three placings from Green Electricity Watch, a coalition of three of Australia’s leading environmental organisations - the Australian Conservation Foundation, Total Environment Centre and WWF-Australia. The products to receive first, second and third place in the Green Electricity Watch 2007 report included:
• Origin GreenEarth Solar 100%
• Origin GreenEarth Wind 100%
• Origin GreenEarth Wind Offset 100%
This is the fourth consecutive report in which Origin’s products have been rated as the best by Green Electricity Watch.
Origin is Australia’s number one GreenPower retailer with 33 per cent of the market and has signed approximately 240,000 GreenPower customers. Origin’s Executive General Manager for Corporate Communications Tony Wood said: “Origin is very pleased to have won gold, silver and bronze in the 2007 Green Electricity Watch report.” “At Origin, we believe that we can offer customers a range of energy products that enable them to make a difference on climate change at a price they can afford. “We place the highest standards on the integrity and credibility of our products and today’s announcement by Green Electricity Watch confirms that.” In addition to offering a broad range of GreenPower accredited products for homes and businesses, Origin is the only energy retailer to offer Australians the opportunity to buy their natural gas and LPG with greenhouse gas emissions offsets. They can also calculate greenhouse gas emissions from their energy use, car and plane travel, and offset those emissions affordably online. By accredited GreenPower, Australians can do their bit for the environment by making their home energy green-friendly using one of the simplest and most powerful methods available. For further information regarding Origin’s GreenPower products, visit www.originenergy.com.au or call 13 24 63. To receive a copy of the Green Electricity Watch 2007 report visit www.greenenergywatch.org.au
Breathe Yoga & Pilates
Discover your inner strength and balance to transcend the everyday. Breathe Yoga & Pilates is Melbourne’s newest inner-city, ecofriendly health and wellbeing haven. Kate Challis, passionate yogi and environmentalist, opened Breathe on Little Collins Street in March 2007 with the vision of providing a beautiful and relaxing retreat for inner city workers. With 65 classes offered weekly, Breathe’s focus is on wellbeing. According to Challis, people are drawn to yoga and pilates for one (or more) of 5 reasons; weight loss, fitness, pain-relief, relaxation and spirituality. Whether a client simply seeks one outcome or a combination of all five, Challis believes there is a place for everyone at Breathe. With a passion for sustainability, Challis strives for Breathe to be a carbon neutral business. Most of Breathe’s floors are over 100 years old. The floor in the yoga studio is made from sustainable bamboo and the reception desk and wooden stools are made from recycled hardwood. Timetables and business cards are produced from either recycled paper or from sustainable products. Breathe’s green philosophy is further emphasized through the green tea and organic fruit it offers its customers before and after classes.
Address: 289 Little Collins Street Melbourne 3000
Phone: (03) 9662 1500
Fax: (03) 9662 2500
Website: www.breathewellbeing.com.au
Email: reception@breathewellbeing.com.au
Villa & Hut. Some might say that Franz Madlener is a serial industrialist.
He owned his first retail store at the age of 18 and built it up into a small chain of stores specialising in surf and denim before accepting a buy-out. Franz went on to work for the Australian Retailers Association as their Senior Retail Consultant, working with clients such as British American Tobacco, Giants Liquor, The Federal Governments' Business Development Forum, Parks Victoria, Queensland Investment Corporation, and Westfield, including a stint as Centre Retail Manager at Westfield's massive Southland shopping centre.
In 1999, Franz invested just $12,000 to buy a container of handcrafted furniture from Java, and thus, Villa & Hut was born. In 2000, Franz's first store was opened and by 2001, the business had gone global with stores in the UK under a licensing structure. By 2003, Villa & Hut's ‘Kafe' branded restaurants opened using the same Asian theme offering live music and food and by 2007, thirty Villa & Hut stores had opened around the globe such that annual turnover of the brand is now in excess of $2 million, with over 3000 people directly or indirectly employed by the brand.
Besides turning 40 this year, Franz was a 2007 finalist in the prestigious Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" award, and his brand has been recognized by BRW magazine as one of Australia's fastest growing companies in this years' Upstarts list - coming in at a respectable number 9. His Villa & Hut brand has also been awarded as a finalist in the smartcompany.com top 50 businesses, and named as one of Australia's Coolest Businesses in the Anthill Top 50 Cool Company Awards. A Smart & Cool Upstart Entrepreneur!
RMIT Community Sustainability Program
Follow the progress of the Globalism Institute at RMIT University, Melbourne. The project brings together community groups, independent research institues and universities, governemnt and non-governement organisations accross the globe. It will deveklop and foster the communities goals and desires for sustainability. For more information go to www.communitysustainability.info.com.au
EcoSTEPS
EcoSTEPS is an Australian based Triple Bottom Line Sustainability Consultancy. The company provides information adn education about sustainability and its goal is to inspire all areas of the community to take action. www.ecosteps.com.au
Green Innovations
Green Innovations is a non-profit environmental think-tank and environmental services organisation. We aim to be a catalyst for the achievement of global and local sustainability. We believe that an ecologically sustainable society should also be just, equitable and fulfilling. We are pursuing the achievement of sustainability for the benefit of people globally and locally and for the benefit of future generations and nature. We believe this can be done while still achieving a high real standard of living and a productive economy.
Green Innovations has its own program of projects and also takes on consultancy work where this helps to achieve its aims.
Green Innovations:
Green Innovations works in the areas of environmental management systems for sustainability-promoting organisations,
green economic strategies & greening the market for sustainability,
biodiversity life-cycle assessment and mobilising for sustainability.
www.green-innovations.asn.au
GreenBiz
GreenBiz is the leading information resource on how to align environmental responsibility with business success. They provide valuable news and resources to large and small businesses through a combination of Web sites, workshops, daily news feeds, electronic newsletters, and briefing papers. Their resources are free to all users.
GreenBiz.com, its sister sites, and their related newsletters are published by Greener World Media, Inc., based in Oakland, California. Greener World Media was co-founded by Joel Makower, Chairman and Executive Editor; and Peter L. May, President and CEO. To contact, send an e-mail to info@greenerworldmedia.com. GWM's mission is to provide clear, concise, accurate, and balanced information, resources, and learning opportunities to help companies of all sizes and sectors integrate environmental responsibility into their operations in a manner that supports profitable business practices. They serve as an information clearinghouse on sustainable business practices, with resources from a wide variety of entities including companies, nongovernmental organizations, trade associations, government agencies, and academic institutions. www.greenbiz.com
NECO is a full-service environmental sustainibility service provider. They offer Australia's best range of eco-friendly and sustainable products, and services including environmental sustainability assessments for business and residential properties. The company also offers carbon-offset schemes for all daily activities and use hybrid vehicles, pushbikes, bio-diesel fuels, GreenPower and recycled goods in the office to off-set their own emissions. For a sustainable service contact www.neco.com.au.
Greenfleet is a non-profit environmental group based in South Gippsland, Victoria. Greenfleet has a national focus provided by a small, professional team that takes responsibility for project management, development and technical matters, sales, communication and public education. Their goal is to create carbon sinks by planting native trees to offset your cars emissions. For fees and to get involved visit www.greenfleet.com.au.
The Climate Friendly Scheme uses the money you spend to support new renewable energy projects that prevent as much greenhouse gas from entering our atmosphere as you have released. It calculates emissions from transport, home, business and events; supports renewable energy and sustainable energy projects; and donates a percentage of earnings to the Worldwide Wildlife Fund. To enquire about packages and more information go to www.climatefriendly.com
The Clothing Exchange is an innovative idea that saves you money, resources and the environment. Tickets are purchased to specific events for clothes swapping of old, unwanted garments that someone else will love. For more information visit www.clothingexchange.com.au
The Centre for Sustainability Leadership is a non-profit organisation dedicated to developing the leadership required for the on-going challenge of the improving earths environmental state. The enthusiastic individuals involved work to realise innovative and inspirational environmental projects. The centre also runs a 7 month course called the Future Sustainable Leadership Program in which talented individuals are selected for a scholarship and trained as the next sustainable leaders for change.
www.csl.org.au
The Buy Recycled Business Alliance (BRBA) is launching Australia’s first National Recycled Product Directory, enabling users to base their purchasing decisions on transparent and accurate information about recycled content products. The Directory, developed with funding support from Federal and State governments, is available online free of charge for anyone wishing to source recycled products including procurement managers, governments, small businesses, schools, householders and community organisations.
Lena Geraghty, Chair of the BRBA, says this ‘one-stop-shop’ Directory of recycled products was initiated by the BRBA to answer the growing interest for more detailed information about the availability of recycled products. “The Directory provides transparent, trustworthy, detailed and consistent information on the range of recycled products available across Australia,” Geraghty said. “We commissioned Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) to develop a product verification procedure that would enable users of the Directory to have confidence that claims about the environmental standards of the products are correct,” she added.
The Directory provides recycled product information in a level of detail never previously available to consumers including the size, specifications and source of each product as well as percentage of recycled, reused and remanufactured content. Detail is also provided on whether the recycled materials were sourced from pre-consumer, post-consumer or reutilised waste. The Directory currently includes over 500 products, a number that is expected to increase substantially following the state-based launches in WA, QLD, NSW, SA, VIC, and ACT throughout April, May and June 2008.
The BRBA, founded in 1999, is an alliance of businesses that are committed to the purchase and use of recycled content products and materials. The BRBA believes that driving demand for recycled content products through ‘buying recycled’ is central to creating a successful Australian recycling market and will strongly contribute to corporate sustainability. Organisational Sponsors of the BRBA include Amcor, McDonalds, Visy Industries, Foster’s Group, Corporate Express, Fuji Xerox and Australian Paper.
The Directory is free to use and can be accessed via the BRBA website at www.brba.com.au. Released for Buy Recycled Business Alliance by Dennis Rutzou Public Relations (www.drpr.com.au). For further information please call Kim Larochelle or Dennis Rutzou on (02) 9413 4244. (Media Release 1 May 2008)
ICLEI International council for Local Environment Initiatives
ICLEI's mission is to build and serve a worldwide movement of local governments whose aim is to implememt sustainable development within their communities. It is an international association dedicated to the improvement in global evironmental development and conditions. For much more information on this dynamic initiative visit www.iclei.org
Green Collect is a not-for-profit enterprise operating in the city centre of Melbourne. The business, for an annual fee, will collect any recyclables from corporate offices to cafes and currently collects from over 200 sites via manual walkers using trolleys. The idea began as a recycling avenue to aid people that were long-term unemployed or needed some kind of social assistance. If you would like to have your recycling ethically collected contact Darren Andrews at www.greencollect.org
Murdoch University GreenPower Initiative. On Wednesday, 16 July, the Murdoch University became the first university in Australia to sign a deal to use 15% GreenPower, achieving the highest percentage use of nationally accredited renewable energy of any university in the country. Currently only two other universities to sign up to GreenPower are in New South Wales and use 2.5%.
Murdoch’s Vice Chancellor, Professor John Yovich, made the announcement at a media conference, 11.30am WST on the 16th of July. Synergy Managing Director Jim Mitchellcongratulated Murdoch University for its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.
Further comments and related news are live on our homepage, http://www.murdoch.edu.au or http://www.murdoch.edu.au/News/View/?article_id=31110
Corporate Communications and Public Relations
Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch WA 6150
T: +61 8 9360 1289
Snow made from recycled water falls at Mt Buller for the first time
Fijian tribal art meets eco design: a TribeWanted and Zaishu Initiative
Here is a unique chance to purchase a Zaishu slot together seat patterned with traditional tribal art from Fiji. Created by social networkers Tribewanted and eco-design company Zaishu, and using traditional artists in Vorovoro, Fiji, this project is raising money for the town’s Mali District School. TribeWanted have been in Fiji building a sustainable tourist village to support the Vorovoro community. Kaz Brecher, the April 2008 chief of TribeWanted has instigated this project inspired by the tribal techniques of stencilling onto tapa bark cloth, woven mat and bula flower patterns. For further information on the project and to buy a traditional seat contact sales at ReForm School, 4014 Santa Monica Blvd LA, or helen@zaishu.com. Other contact sites are reformschoolrules.com, tribewanted.com and zaishu.com .