The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has published The Business Case for Green Building - a comprehensive report into the economic worth of sustainable building. [ + ]

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) has been named as a finalist in the carbon reduction category for the Green Gown Awards Australasia - a prestigious sustainability awards program for tertiary education providers. AUT is the only university in New Zealand to be recognised in the carbon reduction category. [ + ]

Researchers at the University of Canberra are investigating if sustainable suburbs that care for the environment are making people healthier and happier as well. Using the suburb of Crace as a case study, they will assess whether the design of suburbs can have long-term benefits for the health and wellbeing of their residents. [ + ]

SunWater's Chinchilla Beneficial Use Scheme took out the top regional award in the 2013 Queensland Project Management Achievement Awards, hosted by the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) in Brisbane last week. [ + ]

National Recycling Week will be held from 11-17 November and Planet Ark is encouraging all Australians to join the recycling revolution at their home, school or workplace. [ + ]

The Meridian Building on Wellington's waterfront - one of New Zealand's most iconic sustainable buildings - has achieved a 5.5 star base building rating. This is a market-leading NABERSNZ rating for energy performance - the highest to be awarded under the 6 star scheme. [ + ]

The 21st International Clean Air and Environment Conference is being held this week from 9-11 September at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event was opened this morning by the NSW Minister for Environment and Heritage, the Hon Robyn Parker MP. [ + ]

Sinclair Knight Mertz (SKM) and Jacobs Engineering announced today that they have signed an agreement to merge their companies, with Jacobs acquiring SKM. The SKM board of directors believes the merger proposal is in the best interests of SKM shareholders. [ + ]

CleanUp 2013 will be held at the Crown Conference Centre in Melbourne from 15 to 18 September 2013. Leading international scientists will attend the event to discuss the latest tactics and solutions in the growing worldwide war on pollution. [ + ]

Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), modelling a range of fossil-fuel scenarios against the cost of 100% renewable energy in 2030, have found that coal-fired electricity may have little or no economic future in Australia - even if carbon capture and storage (CCS) becomes commercially available. [ + ]

A New Zealand plastic bag manufacturer has been fined $30,000 in the Auckland District Court after making environmental claims that were liable to mislead, thus breaching the Fair Trading Act. [ + ]

The Rudd government last week announced $2.2 million to advance a revolutionary technology developed at the University of Wollongong (UOW) to produce low-cost hydrogen with a greatly reduced carbon footprint, through the Clean Technology Innovation Program. [ + ]

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced that if re-elected, he will appoint Australia’s first Minister for Cities and establish an Outer Suburban Growth Taskforce (assisted by an expanded Major Cities Unit) to develop a Ten Year Jobs and Growth strategy for cities’ outer suburbs. [ + ]

Emerson Network Power and Australian engineering and manufacturing company RedFlow have formed a partnership to take RedFlow’s flow battery storage technology into new markets. [ + ]

Initial Hygiene is backing a new absorbent hygiene waste (AHW) recycling technology from nappy and pad recycling expert Relivit, in a partnership which is said to unlock a hidden goldmine in landfill worth approximately $120 million. [ + ]