 An Environmentally-Conscious City
1. House 2 (CH2) is a visionary new building with the potential to change forever the way Australia – indeed the world – approaches ecologically sustainable design. The City of Melbourne decided to embark on the revolutionary project when faced with a pressing need for office space and the desire to breathe life into an under-used section of the city directly opposite Melbourne Town Hall. The Green Building Council of Australia awarded Council House 2 six Green Stars which represents world leadership in office building design. CH2 has sustainable technologies incorporated into every conceivable part of its 10 storeys. (Source: www.melbourne.vic.gov.au)
2. Melbourne is home to Australia's largest and fastest growing cycling organisation with over 40,000 Members, Bicycle Victoria. (Source: www.bv.com.au)
3. The Melbourne Sustainable Business Directory features businesses based in Metropolitan Melbourne that are contributing to a more sustainable world. This is either through what they do (i.e. through the provision of environmental management services) and/or by the way they operate as a business (i.e. environmentally sensitive products/ processes). The free Directory promotes these businesses to a growing market of informed individuals and companies wishing to purchase goods and services that are sustainable, improving their environmental behaviour and performance and thereby creating new markets. (Source: http://203.26.235.226/sustainablebusiness)
4. The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s Centre for Design launched an eco-product database in Melbourne in 2003. The database, Ecospecifier, is a guide to eco-preferable products and materials for the construction industry. It responds to the need for greater clarity about what is and is not ‘green’, for the desire to specify products that will lead to better indoor air quality and wellbeing, and for the growing body of public and private sector clients who want to save energy, water, and use sustainable resources. The Centre for Design conducts an integrated program of interdisciplinary research, consulting & professional development to promote and demonstrate the role of design and innovation in achieving an environmentally sustainable future for Australia. (Source: www.cfd.rmit.edu.au)
5. The Melbourne City Council has designed programs to improve the municipality’s environmental performance, particularly by reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, reducing water consumption, and improving water quality and waste management. (Source: www.melbourne.vic.gov.au) |
