Environment

Accelerating carbon reduction to cure climate

The City of Sydney has taken a major step in what is fast becoming a defining year for sustainability, with the adoption of an action plan to make our city net zero emissions by 2050. Lord Mayor Clover Moore said Environmental Action 2016-2021 sets targets for net zero emissions and 50 per cent renewable power by 2050. “The C40 Mayor’s Summit in Mexico reinforced the scale of the challenge, and the urgent need for world leaders to redouble efforts on climate change,” the Lord Mayor said. “The research paints a grim picture if we don’t act now, so we’ve responded with the strongest possible plan to urgently reduce emissions. “The next four years are crucial – they will determine if we meet the Paris Agreement’s commitment to less than two degrees Celsius temperature rise. “Environmental Action 2016–2021 sets out a plan to transform Sydney into a low-carbon city that diverts waste from landfill, saves potable water, is connected with green parklands and spaces, and buildings that feature outstanding environmental performance. “In December, Council supported my proposal to accelerate the implementation of the action plan, including in our own operations. Now the plan has been adopted, we can press ahead with this vital work.” The City will start a range of actions over the life of the plan, including: • initiate a net-zero emissions building challenge • invest $10 million to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy • facilitate large-scale water recycling project • develop sustainability plans for the commercial office, accommodation and entertainment sectors. “We’re looking at how we can improve the City’s environmental performance through our capital works projects, our property portfolio and our operational waste management,” the Lord Mayor said. “We’ve partnered with the C40 City Solutions platform to determine the most effective way to invest our […]

Green offices top three million square metres

Australian offices are taking the lead in tackling climate change with green office floor space now covering three million square metres, or the equivalent footprint of Uluru – the world’s largest rock formation. The CitySwitch Green Office energy-efficiency program represents over 12 per cent of all Australia’s CBD office space and helps companies significantly cut carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency and reduce energy and waste costs. The latest addition to the City of Sydney led national program is Melbourne’s Green Steps consultancy, contributing 1,000 square metres in floor space. Green Steps is a not-for-profit environmental consulting and training provider based at Monash Sustainable Institute offering climate-conscious training to companies. Green Steps has committed to improving their energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions and improving their recycling rates using the tools available through CitySwitch. Lord Mayor Clover Moore congratulated CitySwitch on reaching the impressive milestone representing a significant commitment from commercial offices to a smarter, greener future. “Around 80 per cent of the emissions from cities come from commercial office buildings so if we’re serious about the war on climate change, that’s the front line,” the Lord Mayor said. “In the past twelve months, CitySwitch members have launched 1,463 sustainability projects, reported an average accredited NABERS rating of 4.1 stars and purchased 296,600 tonnes of carbon credits, detailed in the program’s annual progress report. “Three million square metres is a terrific result for the program – the same size as Uluru which takes three and a half hours to walk around. “These fantastic results are a real credit to Australia’s forward-thinking businesses for recognising climate leadership as a means of producing office efficiencies while making savings to their own bottom line.” The program currently has 730 offices on board with signatories making a commitment to develop a structured pathway to energy efficiency, […]

World-first universal chute design cuts costs and downtime

A multidirectional rotating underground coal chute system that can be installed in less than a single shift at a typical mine has been developed by Chute Technology in what the Australian technology and manufacturing partnership believes is a world first. The cost-saving universal chute – which can rotate output through 160 degrees left or right – can remove completely the need to custom-manufacture individual chute types to fit the confined spaces and particular angles of individual mines. The versatile bolt-in system – comprising a complete integrated structure from head end to conveyor outlet – features a rotating outlet beneath the head that can be angled to any position required to facilitate product flow. In addition to radically reducing the labour required for manufacture and installation, the chute’s ability to be installed in a fraction of the time of custom chutes minimises downtime by keeping production moving when chutes wear out. “This is a brilliantly simple breakthrough in cost and time saving at a time when the mining industry needs it most to maintain production. The benefits are obvious when you look at the basic concept, but we don’t know of anywhere else in the world where it has been done,” says Chute Technology Partner Mr Tom Woods, whose experience of coal chute manufacture through family company T.W. Woods Construction extends back more than 40 years. The new chute system – of which the first example has already been produced – is the result of the analytical, design and manufacturing experience of each of the three Principal Partners in Chute Technology, who have combined experience of more than 80 years in a wide variety of resource industries including coal, iron ore, alumina and limestone across Australia, the USA, South America and South Africa. The company’s technologies are also applicable to gold, […]

Waste water project demonstrates efficiency and OHS gains

High efficiency fine screening technology engineered to deliver low maintenance performance with reduced OHS hazards for municipal and industrial waste water schemes is demonstrating immediate results in one of its new applications. CST Wastewater Solutions has installed SCF screen extractor technology for the co-joined towns of Harden and Murrumburrah to improve the treatment system for a population of approximately 2,000 people. The SFC (screen press for channel installation) Screen Extractor is also suitable for applications such as food and beverage, manufacturing and processing, mining, energy and resources camps where its low maintenance /high hygiene qualities are appreciated, agribusiness, and remote installations where low maintenance high efficiency is a priority for users who don’t need to have specialist staff constantly available. SFC allows for a much finer level of screening – 5mm compared to the old system at 60mm – which has led to a significant reduction in solids in the tanks, more efficient treatment and less maintenance issues. The technology – designed to lower investment, operational and maintenance costs in screening of municipal and industrial waste water with compacting of extracted solids – has also cut the amount of maintenance and waste that has to be handled by plant operators, reducing operational health hazards and improving OHS performance. The same benefits are widely applicable to other industry and municipal applications, says Mr Michael Bambridge, Managing Director, CST Wastewater Solutions. “The fine screening at 5mm aperture made a significant difference within days of commissioning the screen extractor,” he says. “The existing system utilised manually coarse raked bar screens with a 60mm aperture which was both operator unfriendly and inefficient. Consequently, a large amount of the fine screenings passed into the downstream sedimentation tanks and trickling filters,” he said. “Not only are the tanks clearer and more efficient now, but the screen […]