More organisations worldwide are building sustainability into their service provider selection and purchasing processes, according to the results from the 2012 Rackspace Green Survey, conducted by Rackspace Hosting. [ + ]

The Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus, has released a revised National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS), allowing Australian businesses to offset their products with pollution reduction under the government’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). [ + ]

EMSc (UK), manufacturer of the Star range of energy-saving solutions - including voltage optimisation system Powerstar - has announced the launch of a global, multilanguage website. [ + ]

Eight companies have been appointed to help businesses in New Zealand cut their lighting bills. The suppliers have been chosen by the Energy Efficiency and Conversation Authority (EECA) to install subsidised lighting controls for businesses looking to save electricity. [ + ]

A high-tech autonomous robot is to be sent into the depths of Brisbane’s reservoirs to monitor the health of our drinking water. [ + ]

Geothermal experts from the University of Melbourne are working with Department of Primary Industries to demonstrate the efficiency of a form of renewable energy that will play an important role in the energy mix of Victoria’s Future. [ + ]

An exposure draft of the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment Regulation 2012 and associated commentary is now available for public comment. [ + ]

Entries are now being accepted for the ENVIRO Innovation in Sustainability Award. [ + ]

The 2012 savewater! awards are calling to action all exceptional water savers from Australia and around the world to be recognised on efficient water use in the face of changing climate patterns and population growth. [ + ]

The Carbon Market Institute will be launching its guide for business, ‘Reporting and Accounting Requirements for the Australian Carbon Market’, at events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on 1, 3 and 15 May respectively. [ + ]

Australia’s move to a clean energy economy was discussed at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) in Rome on 18 April, by federal Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Mark Dreyfus. [ + ]

At the recent departure of Qantas’s first flight powered using a 50/50 blend of biofuel and regular jet fuel, the federal government announced it will help fund a study into the sustainable production and commercialisation of aviation biofuels in Australia. [ + ]

The latest National Greenhouse Accounts have been released by the Federal Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, revealing that Australia’s national inventory total emissions of greenhouse gases increased by 0.6% to 546 million tonnes over the year to December 2011. [ + ]

The Australian Government has used a national forum in Canberra to explain how local governments can use landfill to reduce pollution and earn carbon credits. [ + ]

A Massey University energy expert says proposed local government reforms would be a step backwards for sustainability. [ + ]