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On the 10 June 2009 the Australian Building Codes Board released its draft provisions for the 2010 BCA. They do this every year and apart from a few people in the construction industry, it rarely gets noticed or causes any great debate.
Not this year, however! The draft BCA 2010 guidelines CONTINUE READING
Think Brick Australia today released a new report that demonstrates clay brick’s superiority. The report shows that in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth (where more than 80% of the population lives), a house that has some clay brick improves heating and cooling energy efficiency regardless of orientation or housing CONTINUE READING
Think Brick Australia has today released a new report that discusses the limitations of existing energy efficiency regulations. According to the report, existing regulations will increase – rather than decrease – residential energy consumption when the emissions trading scheme is introduced.
The report – Wasting Energy – is timely because not CONTINUE READING
Despite the Global Financial Crisis, the sustainability debate and development of a national emissions trading scheme continues to march on, and with it, the ever increasing need and desire for simple labels to help consumers choose sustainable products.
Although these are precarious times for all businesses, and definitely for the brick CONTINUE READING
Following on from an earlier post , I thought I might elaborate on the five key questions that all industries need to answer in the face of emissions trading and why they are more helpful than any economic modelling to determine the strategy and risks a company may be prepared CONTINUE READING
Last week the Federal Government released its long awaited economic modelling demonstrating the impact of climate policies on the Australian economy. The modelling is one of a number of inputs the Government is considering to help it set climate policies and emission reduction targets.
The modelling sets out four possible scenarios CONTINUE READING
Less than three years ago climate change was still a relatively small issue for Australian businesses and the Federal Government. At that stage only a small group of public servants were starting to develop a public discussion paper on how the State Labor governments – independent of the Federal Coalition CONTINUE READING
If all the sustainability buzzwords like passive solar design and thermal mass seem a bit abstract to you, you should visit the new 8-star home. Called an 8-star home because it achieves an impressive 8-star rating in the Building Energy Rating Services (BERS) system, this home is a stunning example CONTINUE READING
For those of you who want the short version of this blog, the answer is false. For those of you who want to know more, read more here!
To assume that reducing embodied energy will make society sustainable implies that production is the root of all our sustainability evils. While production CONTINUE READING
Climate change is a problem. The Australian and global economies depend on predictable weather patterns to maintain our health, safety and prosperity.
Climate change has been exacerbated by a poorly designed built environment. Where once solar passive design was used to keep a house cool in summer and warm in winter, CONTINUE READING