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Welcome
This months edition includes information on a range
of relevant environmental initiatives - local and
global.
Don't forget to note two important dates in your
diary - 16 November will mark the celebration of the
Green Building Council's 3rd birthday 'Greens on the
Greens' lawn bowling event and 30 November is the
'Business of Sustainability Conference and Trade
Fair'. You can find more in the 'Events' section of
this newsletter.
We welcome our newest members: Abigroup Contractors,
Allstaff Airconditioning (VIC), Energetics, Green
Design Indoor Plant Hire, Hansen Yuncken, Mellor
Gray Architects and Powerscape.
Maria
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News
If you need to improve your green building
presentation skills we are offering eight people the
opportunity to join the Green Building Council team
on a fantastic presentation course. Could you
benefit from attending?
Read More »
Despite it being a windy night in Melbourne, over
100 property and construction professionals attended
the Melbourne Forum (30 August) which focused on the
"Demand for Green Buildings". Speakers included
Daniel Grollo, Joint Managing Director, Grocon;
Roger Kluske, Manager Sustainability, Victorian
Property Group and Tom Cantwell, Partner, Phillips
Fox. Chaired by Maria Atkinson, Executive Director
of the Green Building Council, participants were
given three uniquely different and fresh views on
how the government and industry is responding to the
demand for green buildings. The next Melbourne Forum
will be held on 25 October 2005.
Read More »
The US Department of Energy has an online database
of environmental attributes of buildings from around
the world. The database includes residential and
commercial developments; interiors and whole
campuses. It includes projects with green
certification or with one or more notable
environmental features.
Read More »
The World Business Council for Sustainable
Development has released a brief and informative
report on what is happening to the world's water
supply.
Less than 3% of the world's water is fresh - the
rest is seawater and undrinkable. Of this 3%, over
2.5% is frozen, locked up at the Poles and not
available to us. As humans we therefore can only
rely upon 0.5% of the world's fresh water which we
must also share with our precious ecosystem.
After agriculture, industry is the second largest
user of water.
The report includes suggestions for what industry
can do to alleviate water stress.
Read More »
'The Environment, Nature's Wisdom' is the theme of
World Expo 2005 in Japan, acknowledging the need for
a new direction for humanity, which is both
sustainable and harmonious with nature. There are
numerous displays from around the world (121
countries and four global organisations are taking
part), many of which show innovative, yet practical
solutions for a more sustainable world.
The Expo, which is being held in Aichi, Japan will
run from 25 March 05 - 25 September 05, during which
time 15 million visitors are expected.
Read More »
A study has been done identifying the top ten green
schools in the United States. Those undertaking the
study looked to the United States Green Building
Council's LEED standards, as well as a number of
their own insights and impressions to come up with
criteria for picking the schools.
The award-winning Clackamas High School in Oregon
managed to earn a silver LEED citation for its
265,000-square foot green building on a 4l-acre
site. Linking architectural intentions to Amory
Lovins' Rocky Mountain Institute, which deals with
complex, energy-efficient systems, Boora Architects
secured a 44 percent reduction in energy
consumption. Students were encouraged to join in
creating full-scale mockups of buildings to test
daylighting and ventilation through convection along
with both sustainable energy and long-life
materials.
Read More »
Are you interested in green procurement? The
Australian Environmental Labelling Association has
put together an overview of a range claims about the
environmental credentials of a number of Australian
products. Several statements, policies and programs
are explained in order to help us understand the
relevance and meaning behind the claims.
Read More »
Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the
United States have joined together to create a new
Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development.
The agreement states that the partnership is
consistent with efforts under the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and will
complement but not replace the Kyoto Protocol.
Prime Minister Howard has described the Agreement as
'fairer and more effective than the Kyoto Protocol'.
The WWF has suggested that 'an agreement on climate
change that doesn't limit pollution is the same as a
peace plan that allows guns to be fired'.
Read More »
Green building rating schemes are not all about
energy efficiency and saving trees anymore. They
also address issues which affect occupant wellbeing,
and this is starting to take on real commercial
value in the marketplace.
Companies are realising how important the indoor
building environment is to staff productivity and
they are demanding greener buildings for higher
profits.
The building industry is responding to this demand
by using green building rating systems to advertise
the quality of their building while manufacturers
are bringing new 'green' products onto the market.
This article examines some of the green building
rating systems that Green Building Councils around
the world have adopted, and the astounding response
from their respective building industries.
Read More »
The national green purchasing database provides, for
the first time, an Australian listing of products
and services on the basis of their actual
environmental performance.
The product information available includes:
* quantifiable environmental performance
information;
* pictures and manufacturer contact details for each
product;
* key product life cycle impact information;
* a spreadsheet format allowing easier comparisons;
* introductory technical material to help you
consider the different environmental loads.
Read More »
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Green Star
The enthusiasm for our Green Star Accredited
Professional courses continues this month, with the
7 September course in Canberra selling out weeks in
advance. There are five more courses planned for
2005. If you're interested in attending, we
recommend you book early.
Read More »
We're looking forward to our two new Technical
Managers joining the team at the end of the month.
Providing the Green Building Council of Australia
with an international perspective - our Senior
Technical Manager, Michelle Malanca, joins us from
San Francisco and Technical Manager, Elena Kosheleva
Bondareva, is coming from Moscow.
Read More »
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Contact
For queries regarding membership and sponsorship:
Suzie Guthridge
Business Development & Marketing Manager
suzie.guthridge@gbcaus.org
For queries regarding Green Star training:
Louise Walker
Communications & Education Manager
louise.walker@gbcaus.org
For queries regarding technical issues within Green
Star:
Technical Manager
greenstar@gbcaus.org
Read More »
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