The Property Council of Australia, the Total Environment Centre and the City of Sydney are asking the Australian Energy Market Commission to change the rules that govern the electricity market. [ + ]

The Tata-UNSW Water Initiative aims to provide clean drinking water to regional India through low-cost water purification solutions. [ + ]

HydroRevolution has announced plans to build a commercial solar desalination plant in the Panoche Water and Drainage District in California's Central Valley — said to be the first of its kind in the region.

Atlas Copco, a provider of sustainable productivity solutions, has been listed by the Newsweek 2015 Green Rankings as the greenest industrial company in the world. [ + ]

The Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries (CCRSPI) will be holding its flagship conference from 18–19 November at Doltone House, Darling Island Wharf, Sydney. [ + ]

Since Australia Day, citizen scientists in Sydney's Sutherland Shire have been collecting plastic from the local beaches and waterways — and contributing to important research in the process. [ + ]

GO Resources has licensed CSIRO to commercialise its technology for the production of super-high oleic safflower oil (SHOSO) — a plant-sourced alternative to petroleum-based raw materials and traditional sources of oleic acid (an industrially significant fatty acid). [ + ]

The Australian Battery Recycling Initiative has called on Environment Minister Greg Hunt and all state and territory ministers to make a strong commitment to battery stewardship when they meet in Melbourne on 15 July. [ + ]

The Australian Government last week approved the development of the Shenhua Watermark coal project — an open-cut mine set to extract up to 10 million tonnes of coal annually for 30 years. [ + ]

Riverside Group has introduced 'Tram Tracker' information to the ground floor lobbies of its Jaques residential development in Richmond, as well as a free bicycle with every apartment. [ + ]

Researchers have developed a way to produce the bioplastic polylactic acid (PLA) in a simpler and more waste-free way. [ + ]

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority in New Zealand has renewed the licence for the NABERS environmental program until 2020. [ + ]

The third annual Australia-Netherlands Water Challenge was held earlier this year — the result of a knowledge exchange partnership initiated between Australia and the Netherlands following the Queensland floods in 2011. [ + ]

A New Zealand brewery has used the by-product of beer to produce a commercially available biofuel, which is now available at Gull service stations across the North Island. [ + ]

Pump manufacturer Grundfos has announced a new structure to reinforce its market position for sustainable and profitable growth in the Asia-Pacific region. [ + ]