We may have plenty of water now but …
While the recent rains and floods may be filling dams, there is no doubt the cycle of “drys” will appear again so five companies have been recognised for achieving significant water savings at Sydney Water's annual Every Drop Counts Business Program Awards. Among the winners, Stockland was recognised for more than halving water use at two Sydney office buildings and Boral Transport won an award for reducing use by 66 per cent at its western Sydney site.
Amcor Fibre Packaging took home the top prize, the Innovation Award. In 2006/07 it invested $13.5 million in new steam plants that are now saving 200ML of drinking water a year. The plant, which uses bore water instead of drinking water, is using reverse osmosis technology to treat the water and generate steam for use in the paper making process.
Stockland won the Largest Percentage Reduction Award for cutting more than half its water use at two of its largest commercial properties. Water use at its Sydney CBD building has been slashed by 56 per cent, while another at St Leonards on the north shore has cut consumption by 51 per cent. A combination of improved management practices, a comprehensive monitoring and reporting program and the installation of waterless urinals produced the result.
BHP Billiton's subsidiary, Illawarra Coal's Appin mine (southern Sydney), won the Largest Volume Reduction Award. The mine reduced its water consumption by a 660,000 litres per day, achieving the largest reduction in water use for 2006/07 in the Every Drop Counts Program. The company reduced its water consumption by installing a reverse osmosis water filtration plant onsite to recycle wastewater from mining operations.
Boral Transport won the Largest Key Performance Indicator Reduction Award by installing a water recycling plant at its Emu Plains site in western Sydney in the last financial year. Recycled water is now used to wash its fleet of trucks.
Property trust company GPT Group received the Sustainable Processes and Practices Award, which recognises companies whose management systems ensure best practice in water management. The company has implemented a range of water saving initiatives, including installing waterless urinals, monitoring water use and finding and fixing leaks throughout its properties across Australia, achieving an overall water consumption reduction of 13 per cent.
(From www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net ) A (BIG) Innovation Survey
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The Australian Business, Innovation & Growth (ABIG) research project has been established to analyse organisational innovation and emerging trends that underpin sustainable future growth. The purpose of the 2007 Patterns of Innovation Survey is to review innovation practices over the past year, and will identify Australian innovation's current best practices.
Respondents will be sent the Survey Report, as well as the three ABIG Reports planned for 2008: Business Innovation, Future Growth and Australian Scoreboard.
To find out more and complete the survey go to www.fastthinking.com.au Just when you thought you could forget chocolates for a while!
UK retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) will use biodegradable packaging trays made by Victorian company Plantic Technologies for its range of Swiss chocolates. Exports of the innovative Australian packaging continue to grow, with grants from the National Packaging Covenant (NPC) helping it along the way.
The product, which is made from cornstarch, requires 40 per cent less energy to produce than conventional plastics and quickly breaks down in the presence of water. M&S has signed on in a bid to reduce the waste its 660 UK stores send to landfill. The deal with M&S adds to Plantics' customers base that includes companies such as Cadbury Schweppes, Nestle, Sainsbury and Lindt.
Plantic came into existence in 2002 after being granted ownership of intellectual property developed by the Cooperative Research Centre for International Food Manufacture and Packaging Science, a federally funded research group.
Kishan Khemani from Plantic told EMN two grants from the National Packaging Covenant Council in late 2004 helped the company take product development "to the next level" where it could be commercialised.
(From www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net ) Uni “Rockets” for Compost
A new composting machine is turning students' leftovers at Aberystwyth University, Wales, into food for plants. Known as the rocket composter, it can cope with 1.2 tonnes (1,750 litres) per week and takes just 14 days to convert waste from cafes into garden food.
Leftovers from kitchens at the students' union and the nearby arts centre are being combined with waste wood to form the compost. Leftovers include salads, cakes, pasta, all types of meat and pizza. The university said the food would normally have been sent to landfill.
The new machine was bought with a £25,000 grant from the Welsh Assembly Government, and the compost it is producing is being used to nourish plants and shrubs at the university.
Pro vice-chancellor John Harries said: "This is the latest in a series of developments that emphasise the university's commitment to enhancing its environmental performance."
People living and working in Aberystwyth think the rocket composter is an excellent idea.
Laisa Lloyd-Presland, 29, from Lampeter, is a receptionist at Aberystwyth University. "I think it (the rocket composter) is a fantastic idea. I'm an avid recycler and I recycle everything from waste food such as peelings, eggs and tea bags to bottles. But I had no idea you could recycle chips and pizza - it's really innovative and new."
(From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/7174796.stm ) When Algae’s not a nuisance
Royal Dutch Shell and HR Biopetroleum will construct a pilot facility in Hawaii to grow marine algae and produce vegetable oil for conversion into biofuel. The two companies said the project holds promise because algae grows rapidly, is rich in vegetable oil and can be cultivated in ponds of seawater, minimising the use of farming land and fresh water.
Construction of the demonstration facility will begin immediately. The facility will grow non-modified, marine microalgae species native to Hawaii in open-air ponds. Once the algae are harvested, the vegetable oil will be extracted and converted into biofuel.
An advantage of algae is their rapid growth, the companies said. They can double their mass several times a day and produce at least 15 times more oil per hectare than alternatives such as rape seed, palm soya or jatropha. Moreover, facilities can be built on coastal land unsuitable for conventional agriculture.
Over the long term, algae cultivation facilities also have the potential to absorb or capture CO2 emissions directly from industrial facilities such as power plants. The Cellana demonstration facility will use bottled CO2 to explore this potential.
"Algae have great potential as a sustainable feedstock for production of diesel-type fuels with a very small CO2 footprint," said Graeme Sweeney from Shell. "This demonstration will be an important test of the technology and, critically, of commercial viability."
(From www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net) Your Ideas, Innovations or Events?
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