Latest Climate Positive News
Green Team Convention sparks conversations about best-practice in office greening
Interested in new ways to tackle your Green Initiatives?Need a strong Green support structure?Looking for a forum to discuss best practices?Learn from your industry leading peers including nab, VicSuper, Hewlett-Packard & Victoria's Department of Justice and RACV...Join us at the Green Team Convention.To book a ticket, please visit http://greenteamconvention.eventbrite.com/Climate Positive, whose remit includes the measurement, reduction and offset of carbon emissions - as well as education about climate science and solutions, wants to bolster the capacity of Green Teams to tackle global warming and assist offset partners to reduce their footprints and costs.We want to make it easier for Green Teams, of all shapes and sizes, to access proven strategies for improving environmental performance to cost-effectively and quickly reduce an organisation's carbon footprint.Climate Positive has recognised a need and demand for a forum to educate and share green ideas.The purpose of this event is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Green Teams from all sectors through best practices, benchmarking and networking.Join your peers at:Green Team ConventionFriday, 25 February 20113.30-6.00pmGreen Team Convention Presenters:VicSuper: Winner of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) annual Sustainability Reporting Awards in 2009 and 2010. The awards recognise excellence in environmental, social and sustainability financial reporting.Hewlett-Packard: HP's goal, set in September 2009, is to reduce the energy consumption and associated GHG emissions of all HP products to 40 per cent below 2005 levels by the end of 2011. HP will also reduce GHG emissions from HP-owned and HP-leased facilities 20 percent under 2005 levels by 2013 on an absolute basis.nab: More than 800 employees participate in nab's voluntary Green Team Community and the bank is continuing to develop its employee environmental awareness and behaviour change program. Nab's public commitment to carbon neutrality last year stimulated employee interest and enthusiasm towards creating a more environmentally sustainable workplace.Department of Justice (Vic): The Department of Justice is one of 11 departments within the Victorian public sector and employs over 21,000 staff. It enjoys the support of around 90,000 volunteers across areas such as Country Fire Authority, Lifesaving Victoria, Victoria State Emergency Service and Office of the Public Advocate.RACV: RACV is committed to ensure it is environmentally responsible in the conduct of its business, both through its Corporate Plan objectives and National Climate Change Policy Statement it has signed with all other Australian motoring clubs.This is an interactive forum. Attendees are encouraged to share their own Green Team experiences with others during the 40-minute Q&A/discussion time.Following the presentations and Q&A, the audience will be invited to stay on for an hour of drinks and finger food at the venue.For more information and to book a ticket, please visit http://greenteamconvention.eventbrite.com/Climate Positive will offset the carbon footprint of this event.Climate Positive thanks VicSuper for hosting this event.Follow Climate Positive on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
'Zero-carbon housing' takes the stage at Saturday's Sustainable Living Festival
Climate change, water scarcity and peak oil demand a change in the way we build housing and this Saturday at the Sustainable Living Festival in Melbourne, Climate Positive Chairman Brendan Condon will showcase a zero-carbon housing project in Victoria.The Cape Paterson Ecovillage is a "future proofed" housing project planned for Bass Coast in South Gippsland, in which the project director has teamed with local builders and designers and national sustainability experts to work towards delivering Australia's first operationally zero carbon housing project involving 200 houses.With water and electricity prices continuing to rise, houses that capture their own water and generate their ownenergy will become the most affordable form of housing available in the future.A small number of individual houses in Australia have achieved a zero carbon standard but, unlike other countries, there are currently no examples in Australiaof a zero carbon housing project of any scale.Come and listen to the designers and builders involved in planning this project to find out more about the designs,technologies and costs of achieving zero carbon housing in the Australian context.Event information:Saturday 19th February 111.00am - 1.00pmAt BMW edge, FederationSpeakers:Brendan Condon - Director, Cape Paterson Ecovillage. www.capepatersonecovillage.com.auPeter Reefman - Zero carbon sustainable house designer and builder. www.energised.com.auAsh Beaumont - Beaumont Concepts, winner HIA Greensmart Home of the year 2010. www.beaumontconcepts.com.auTony O'Connell - TS Constructions, housing construction company in Wonthaggi. www.tsconstructions.com.auMore information: http://festival.slf.org.au/
9,000 indigenous species planted east of Melbourne on 26 May at annual planting day
Thirty hard-working volunteers from five Climate Positive offset partners planted enough indigenous species to draw down 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over their lifetime, at Climate Positive's 2010 planting day in Wantirna South on Wednesday.
To see photos of the day, go here.
Good Business Register selects Climate Positive calculator
The Good Business RegisterTM, currently managed by St James Ethics Centre, has chosen to include Climate Positive's calculator as the preferred tool for small businesses to measure their carbon footprint.Suzanne Granger, Project Manager of the Responsible Business Project at St James Ethics Centre, said the Climate Positive calculator was "definitely one of the most useful we've found, particularly for small business".
She said the Good Business RegisterTM will "promote and link through to [Climate Positive's] carbon calculator for small business within the environmental principle five - specifically within the ‘measure and monitor' focus area."
Finding the Biggest Carbon Loser
Climate Positive offset partner VicSuper borrowed from the small screen for its latest carbon-cutting and team-building initiative, 'VicSuper's Biggest Carbon Loser'.VicSuper Corporate Sustainability Consultant Matt Wicking said he began the initiative to encourage VicSuper's 184 employees to cut greenhouse gas emissions at work and home. Staff won points by cutting emissions and inventing creative team-based reduction measures.
"Eighty per cent of our staff took part in the competition in some way,"
Matt said. "And while the competition encouraged employees to reduce their carbon footprint, its primary objective was to engage them on VicSuper's approach to managing its carbon impact."
Climate is ripe for change
Erica Hughes, Climate Positive board director, measured and offset her personal footprint using our easy-to-use online calculator. Measure yours at http://www.climatepositive.org/measure/
Danielle Johnston, general manager, bought an indoor compost bin which accepts all food waste (including cooked food, meat, fish and cheese) and produces nutrient-rich compost, minus the usual foul, compost smells http://www.bokashi.com.au/How-Bokashi-works.htm
Vic-based volunteers needed
Climate Positive would like to invite 20 keen volunteers to help with our latest biodiverse revegetation to be held next Wednesday in Wantirna South, Vic.
With the Balook site planting completed and Bush Family Reserve in Stratford nearing completion, Climate Positive is recruiting green thumbs for the annual planting day on Wednesday, 26 May, only 30kms east of Melbourne.
Safe climate solution gains pace
Climate Positive has aligned with Australia's pre-eminent big-picture, end-game global-warming-solution organisation - Safe Climate Australia - to further fulfill our charter to protect and conserve the natural environment.
The NGO is currently researching the societal transformations and solutions needed to achieve a safe climate at emergency speed.
Safe Climate Australia launch emissions assessed, reduced & offset
Safe Climate Australia, launched on July 13 by The Hon. Al Gore, engaged Climate Positive and environmental consulting partner ecovantage to perform an emission assessment of the 1000-person event, and to offset residual emissions.
The major sources of emissions assessed by ecovantage included:
Climate Positive confirms next partner planting site
Climate Positive have finalised the next planting site and preparations for a planting are already under way.
The Axford Road site is 4.35ha and located in the Dandenong Valley Parklands, within the greater Melbourne area. This location makes it an ideal site for the Climate Positive partner planting days, which, despite being held over two hours out of Melbourne have proved very popular (See photos of last years planting in the Strzelecki Ranges here).