sustainability

By Samantha Arnold, Transaction and Compliance and Tim Flower, Technical Director, Golder As disruptive as the COVID-19 pandemic has been to businesses worldwide, the escalating environmental crisis remains the biggest global risk. The need has never been greater for manufacturing companies to intensify efforts toward sustainability and to build resilience to future climate impacts.

The experts at Atlas Copco share their thoughts about energy consumption and how reducing one’s carbon footprint can lead to cost savings. Compressed air production consumes a large amount of energy, which impacts a company’s bottom line as well as the environment. However, there are some things businesses can do to immediately and sustainably to … Continue reading Atlas Copco’s energy efficient production →

Manufacturers’ Monthly interviews Taurus Mats founder Owen Henry about creating a sustainable business from Australian end-of-life tyres. A hobby farmer from the Sunshine Coast is turning old tyres into woven mats to help improve livestock welfare. Local manufacturer Taurus Mats creates a safer, non-slip, surface for livestock in high-traffic areas, which are made with tyre … Continue reading Toughing it out with repurposed tyres →

Research by the UNSW Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) Centre has found a way that could start a new “green aluminium” manufacturing revolution and bolster government 2020 Budget and industry efforts to advance Australian manufacturing, and be more sustainable and create new jobs. The new technique to recover aluminium from complex, multilayered packaging is … Continue reading Breakthrough can help drive manufacturing prosperity →

Two University of Wollongong (UOW) academics have been named as recipients of New South Wales Premier’s Prizes for Science and Engineering in recognition of their pioneering research work. Distinguished Professor Antoine van Oijen will receive the Prize for Excellence in Medical Biological Sciences and Distinguished Professor Zaiping Guo will receive the Prize for Excellence in … Continue reading University of Wollongong researchers win NSW Premier’s Prizes →

More than $3 billion of renewable hydrogen projects are vying for funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to build the first commercial scale hydrogen projects in the country. In April, ARENA opened the $70 million Renewable Hydrogen Deployment Funding Round to help fast track the development of renewable hydrogen in Australia. With the initial application … Continue reading Australia ready to fast track commercial scale hydrogen →

A new type of concrete made out of waste materials that can bend under load has been developed and patented by researchers at Swinburne. “Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world,” Dr Behzad Nematollahi said. “In fact, it is the second-most consumed material by human beings after water. Its quality has … Continue reading Bendable concrete developed at Swinburne →

Chemistry Australia has launched Plastics Stewardship Australia, an initiative to support the sustainable use and recovery of plastics, at the inaugural National Plastics Summit on Monday, at Parliament House in Canberra. “Our industry is committed to improving how people use and recover plastics, which is why we’ve established the Plastics Stewardship Australia initiative,” Plastics Stewardship … Continue reading Chemistry Australia to help manufacturers pursue sustainability goals →

Taking account of the whole of an industrial process’s environmental impact is the focus of the Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory (IELab). As more businesses seek to account for their carbon footprint, tracing inputs that come from outside the individual factory is becoming more important. Tommy Wiedmann, from UNSW’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is … Continue reading UNSW’s IELab helps manufacturers improve environmental footprint →

An Australian manufacturer’s circular economy solution has been recognised at the NSW Green Globe Awards. Integrated services company Downer Group’s Reconophalt took the innovation category award. The product takes soft plastics, glass, toner, and reclaimed road to create pavement, laid across NSW. The product is itself able to be recycled at the end of its … Continue reading Recycled asphalt receives innovation award →

At an industry awards night for the packaging industry, manufacturers were recognised for their innovative approaches to packaging. Presenting the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) awards, Trevor Evans, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, noted that the winners of these awards demonstrate how the sector is pursuing national objectives. “The achievements on show … Continue reading Awards recognise excellence in manufacturing packaging →

The Green Globe Awards from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage are open for nominations for the twentieth year and manufacturers are encouraged to apply. With awards in twelve categories, the awards highlight how sustainability is a key concern for the entire community. Manufacturers are invited to nominate for categories including Business Leadership, Innovation … Continue reading Manufacturers able to nominate for Green Globe Awards →

Energy and environment ministers of G20 nations have adopted a statement outlining that the potential to transition to clean energy and sustainable environments depends upon improving business environments to encourage innovation and change. The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the EU. Countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, … Continue reading G20 puts forth agenda for energy transition and sustainable growth →

A team of University of Queensland researchers will join forces with 40 other organisations to form a new cooperative research centre (CRC), set to improve offshore renewable energy production. The Blue Economy CRC is a $329 million research project that combines seafood, renewable energy and offshore engineering for the first time. It is underpinned by a $70m … Continue reading Research centre to improve renewable energy production and offshore engineering →

A 2018 PwC report, Australia’s IoT Opportunity: Driving Future Growth, stated that across five industries assessed, which represent 25 per cent of Australia’s GDP, the Internet of Things (IoT) can achieve potential annual benefits of $194-$308 billion over a period of 8-18 years. This impact translates into average productivity improvements of about 2 per cent … Continue reading IoT solutions that improve sustainability processes →

An energy report outlining the market and the potential for opportunities in utility-scale battery storage in NSW was released at an industry event in Sydney at the end of last week. Entitled “Opportunities for Utility Scale Battery Storage in NSW”, the report was produced by the Australian Energy Storage Alliance (AESA) in partnership with AECOM and supported by … Continue reading Opportunities for NSW utility-scale battery storage →

A report by the South Australian government has said that a new technology in South Australia that will make it more affordable to convert agricultural waste into high value activated carbon could soon be on the market with a $217,000 State Government grant. Adelaide based company ByGen’s breakthrough product has the potential to convert millions … Continue reading ByGen activated carbon tech breakthrough →

The Victorian state government is backing a new scientific study offshore from the Ninety Mile Beach in Gippsland that could help combat climate change and create the jobs of the future. The joint state and federally funded study is being conducted by CarbonNet to advance the science of carbon capture and storage (CCS) at a … Continue reading Gippsland Study to help grow jobs and fight climate change →

Last week, Toyota Australia announced that it has joined forces with industry heavyweights to accelerate the reality of a hydrogen society built upon clean and renewable energy technology. The company has become a foundation member of Hydrogen Mobility Australia (HMA), which has been established to support the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. … Continue reading Toyota joins HMA to support renewable energy drive →

Atlas Copco, has issued a press statement late last week on a solid order intake growth and operating profit for the closing quarter of 2017. In the near term, the overall demand for the group is expected to remain at current high level. “Our winning teams ensured we had a strong end to a record … Continue reading Atlas Copco reports strong close to Q4 of 2017 →