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In 2004, the inaugural Energy Efficiency
Conference and Trade Fair put South Australia in pole
position to establish itself as a world leader in the
practice of energy efficiency. This year the Property
Council of Australia, along with its partners, lifted the
bar with the Business of Sustainability Conference and
Trade Fair. Expanding to a two day program the event
covered more ground by encompassing themes associated with
sustainable business practices, including energy efficiency,
waste management and water conservation. Over 200 delegates
from across Australia came to hear presentations from
leading national and international experts.
On the morning of November 1, the Event was officially
opened by the Premier, the Hon Mike Rann MP. Mr Rann
illustrated to delegates the realities and opportunities of
what climate change would mean to South Australia. He said,
“I believe that climate change is a much greater threat to
Australia than terrorism.
“Rather than becoming overwhelmed by our daunting global
environmental problems, we need to break the challenge down
into manageable task.
“We need to see it as an opportunity to lead. To show
communities around the world how they may tackle climate
change locally and practically,” Mr Rann said.
Following the opening, delegates were treated to the first
three guest speakers, Dr Martin Gibson (UK), Director of
Envirowise, Anne-Grete Hestnes (Norway), Dean of the Faculty
of Architecture and Fine Art and Paul Perkins (Aust),
Chairman of the Barton Group. At the completion of their
presentations, delegates were then able to ask questions to
the guests via a forum moderated by Property Council (SA)
Executive Director, Bryan Moulds.
Click here for presentations
Afternoon Sessions completed the morning proceedings
offering delegates a choice of three workshops, Economical
Environment Efficiency, Towards Carbon Neutral: ‘If You
Cannot Measure it, then You Can Not Manage It and The
Benefits of Water Sensitive Urban Design in Developments and
Refurbishments. Working in smaller groups, the workshops
allowed for a higher degree of interaction between delegates
and speakers. With 21 presenters across three sessions,
delegates were treated to a varying scope of perspectives in
their nominated workshop.
Click here for presentations
Day one
concluded with a dinner at the Hyatt for delegates and
guests, including the Hon Patrick Conlon MP, Minister for
Infrastructure and Energy, Hon Angus Redford MLC, Shadow
Minister for Energy and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition
and Shadow Spokesman for Environment and Planning, Hon Iain
Evans MP. The dinner allowed for everyone to have a laugh
thanks to the comedy efforts of Graeme Bowman and his
alter-ego, Professor Heinrich Bower. It took most of the
audience at least half an hour to question if the so called
German scientist was the real deal.
Day two
was opened by an inspiring speech by 17-year old Elinor
Cozens. Ms Cozens is the immediate past -President of the
Youth Environment Council of South Australia and currently
attends Norwood Morialta High School. She encouraged
industry to avoid stereotyping young people and listen to
their many good ideas. She suggested the need to encourage
the expansion of work experience to ensure young people get
hands on experience, as well as ensuring the business
community benefits from the positive contributions of
today’s youth. Ms Cozens said “Our passion and our
commitment are pathways to making positive changes and
finding solutions to dealing with problems that continually
arise.”
Day two expanded on topics discussed during the previous day
to encompass further perspectives on the waste, water and
energy sectors from investors, policy makers and
regulators. On this occasion, delegates were treated to
presentations from Joe Van Belleghem (Canada) President of
BuildGreen Developments, Rodney Wade (Aust) Technical
Manager, Finsbury Green Printing and Doctor Paul Vogel (Aust)
CEO and Chairman of the Environment Protection Authority.
The final part of the program involved an expansion on the
previous day’s workshops. Thirteen speakers across three
workshops tackled the themes of Green Buildings = Green
Profits, Environmental Imperativeness for Fitout Items and
Towards Zero Waste- What’s the Bottom Line?
The Property Council wishes to thank the generous support of our event
partners, The Government of South Australia, AIRAH, Business
SA, Water Industry Alliance, Conservation Council of South
Australia and SA Water and the many fantastic sponsors,
Lincolne Scott, City of Salisbury, City of Melbourne,
Capital City Committee, SA Water, Zero Waste, Green Building
Council, Vinidex, and Aus Industry. Their generous support
has taken South Australia one step closer to becoming a
global leader in sustainable business practices.
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