The road to clean technology is not a smooth one. It requires the spending of time and money to get ideas off the ground, and then a change in attitude in order for other people to implement these ideas. The challenge of overcoming these issues was discussed at the opening panel session of GE Australia’s ‘At Work’ event, held in Sydney from 21-22 August. [ + ]

MPower has recently completed the design, supply and installation of a trigeneration plant for the Tyree Energy Technology Building at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). The trigeneration system helped the university to achieve the Six Star Green Star design rating for the building. As the power generation equipment is located on the roof of the building, space plus noise and vibration levels were challenging. [ + ]

McConnell Dowell is using Campbell Scientific data loggers and sensors within its new weather monitoring and marine navigation system installed at Hay Point in North Queensland. The main purpose of the system is for Operations Health & Safety, ensuring safe working conditions for McConnell Dowell personnel. [ + ]

Engineers at Oregon State University have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater, opening the door to a future in which waste treatment plants will not only power themselves, but will sell excess electricity. [ + ]

Enviropacific Services’ (EPS) main role during the BHP Remediation works was the practical implementation of the Material Management Plan (MMP) (Maunsell, 1999). This involved the classification and management of contaminated material identified in preliminary investigations and encountered during earthworks. [ + ]

AvivaPure, a clean technology business from Notting Hill in Melbourne, is working towards commercialising its ECube, large-scale, solar- and wind-powered accelerated evaporator and antifouling technology. To assist in further research and development of its products, the company sought business advice from Enterprise Connect and undertook a business review. The advice and recommendations opened up new connections for the company with researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Monash University. [ + ]

Sustainability can be a hard idea to wrap your head around because it’s so broad. So here are two ways we want to think about it at Xylem: first, we have a global definition - meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs; and second, we have a business definition - generating shareholder value by controlling risks and capitalising on opportunities associated with environmental and socioeconomic issues. [ + ]

Scientists have discovered an abrupt increase in the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide by the land biosphere (which comprises all of the planet’s plant and animal ecosystems) since 1988. Without this natural increase in uptake, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would probably have increased even more rapidly over the last two decades. [ + ]

While our athletes strived for gold at the London Olympics 2012 (achieving seven gold medals, 16 silver and 12 bronze), the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) tried to achieve the ‘most sustainable Games ever’ and match the sustainability standard first set back in 2000 by Sydney. [ + ]

Ziltek and CSIRO have announced the commercialisation of a handheld device for the rapid in-field analysis of petroleum contamination in soil. [ + ]

These are interesting days for product stewardship. The days of strict extended producer responsibility (EPR) being forced by governments upon unsuspecting and entirely unwilling industries have waned. Recycling at end of life is no longer seen as the sole means of demonstrating product stewardship. Broader aspects of sustainability and their roles in reducing the life-cycle impacts of products across supply chains are recognised more than ever before. [ + ]

ALERT stations are typically set up to acquire and transmit hydrological and meteorological data on a timed and event basis. Campbell Scientific data loggers that are used to run ALERT stations have plenty of capability to spare, and that capability can be leveraged to perform a variety of services. [ + ]

A study by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has demonstrated that the re-use of disused resources has the potential to create a new industry sector providing jobs for Australia’s most disadvantaged jobseekers. Australia’s Community Recycling Enterprises (CREs) divert 152,000 tonnes of waste each year, employ 1500 people and contribute over $56 million to the regional economy. [ + ]

In an effort to increase reycling efforts away from the home, Verde Australia explains why reverse vending machines (RVMs) are a sophisticated and effective method of collecting our country’s containers. [ + ]

Kevin Kampschroer is the Director of the US Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings - a department that retrofits old federal buildings to reduce energy usage and improve performance. He was thus an apt keynote speaker on the second day of Total Facilities Live. [ + ]