UniQuest will promote more than 20 cleantech innovations at two major international water industry events over the coming weeks. The company’s commercialisation manager, Dr Paul Barrett, is presenting at the annual Bluetech Forum in San Francisco this week, then returning to Brisbane for the International Water Association’s Leading-Edge Conference on wastewater from 3-7 June. [ + ]

Sydney Water has selected Elster as one of its suppliers to deliver V100 volumetric water meters and Helix water meters over the next three years, commencing 1 July 2012. These meters will help Sydney Water to manage its water resources more efficiently by providing accurate measurement of water usage and control over water leakage and wastage. [ + ]

Earlier this year, hundreds gathered online and at the University of Michigan for a three-day conference on the shaping of public opinion around climate change. ‘Increasing Public Understanding of Climate Risks and Choices: What We Can Learn from Social Science Research and Practice’ brought together people from all different backgrounds to share their perspectives from experience and research. [ + ]

Carbon Neutral, an Australian environmental not-for-profit, will receive $441,000 in funding for a conservation project from the federal government’s Biodiversity Fund. [ + ]

Fuji Xerox Australia has announced that its Sustainability Manager, Amanda Keogh, has been appointed as the Head of Sustainability for Fuji Xerox’s International Business Group, which manages 12 Fuji Xerox operating companies in the Asia-Pacific region outside Japan. [ + ]

Energy management specialist Schneider Electric and industrial process instrumentation manufacturer Krohne have announced a partnership to provide customers with a complete solution including Schneider Electric’s PlantStruxure process automation architecture and Krohne’s instrumentation offer. [ + ]

Installing solar power systems into Tongan high schools, allowing computers to be used in classrooms, is an initiative about to be launched by the University of Canterbury’s Russell Taylor. [ + ]

Researchers at The University of Western Australia have contributed the first global analysis of carbon stored in seagrasses, which shows they can hold as much carbon as the world’s temperate and tropical forests. [ + ]

There is a whole range of organisations, through to individual Australians, who are determined to make Australia a more environmentally sustainable country. The Banksia Awards encourage these people to step up and make themselves known to the rest of the country. [ + ]

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, has announced the appointment of Professor Veena Sahajwalla to the Climate Commission. Professor Sahajwalla is an award-winning scientist and engineer whose achievements include inventing a process of recycling plastics and rubber tyres in steelmaking. [ + ]

Australia is a world leader in developing clean, more sustainable resources and technologies to prevent pollution, the managing director of CRC CARE, Professor Ravi Naidu, said today. [ + ]

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, and the Parliamentary Secretary, Mark Dreyfus, yesterday announced over $20 million in grants to improve energy efficiency at small and medium businesses and community groups. [ + ]

Sustainability in the automotive industry is not just about producing small electrical vehicles, it’s about providing a choice of vehicles in all shapes and sizes that are environmentally sound. [ + ]

Leaders in the Australian water industry were recognised at the National Water Awards, hosted by the Australian Water Association during Ozwater, Australia’s leading water conference and exhibition. [ + ]

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) speculated last week that the Tax Breaks for Green Buildings program would be scrapped in the 2012-13 Budget and, sure enough, their fears were confirmed. The program was noticeably absent from the Budget announcement, indicating a withdrawal of the funding allocated to the scheme in last year’s Forward Estimates. [ + ]