2022 Australia's Sustainability Success Stories - 33rd Banksia Sustainability Awards

33rd banksia sustainability awards

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Welcomefrom the Banksia Foundation Board

We are proud to bring you another edition of Australia’s Sustainability Success Stories presenting our finalists for the 33rd Banksia Sustainability Awards. The Winner were announced in Melbourne on the 31 March 2022, at a live Gala Dinner event which we were excited to stage at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The last 12 months have provided us with more challenges but at least we were all able to navigate these unchartered waters, with the benefit of great lessons learnt over the past few years. Resilience and empathy are two strengths that we have observed have permeated all levels of business and community. These two strengths are the foundation stones that ensure that we support each other through these unprecedented times.

We are really delighted that the national Banksia Awards continue to be highly prized in our 33rd Year and our entries have increased by 60%. This is a great sign and confirms that sustainability is a major focus for many Australians, and we are encouragingly seeing commitment spread across all of our 15 categories.

We would like to thank our category sponsors, our foundation partners and our supporters who ensure that this prestigious national recognition program continues to grow. Their ongoing support and involvement in the awards, allows us to continue our vital work. In 2021 we launched our first state award, the NSW Sustainability Awards which had its winners progress to the national program. In 2022 we are working with Sustainability Victoria and Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria to conduct the Victorian Premiers Sustainability Awards. Their winners will also progress to the national Banksia Awards.

On behalf of the Banksia Board, we would like to congratulate all our winners and finalists and we hope that you enjoy discovering what innovative Australians are doing towards achieving our targets around the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Board Members

Grazyna van Egmond CEO

John Valastro

Andrew Petersen Chair

Mark Peterson

Rick Finlay Treasurer

Howard Wigham

Meet Our Patron

Alan Finkel

Alan Finkel is a neuroscientist, engineer and entrepreneur. He was Australia’s chief scientist from 2016 to 2020, during which time he led the National Electricity Market Review, the development of the National Hydrogen Strategy, and the panel that advised the Australian Government on the 2020 Low Emissions Technology Roadmap. He is currently Chair of Stile Education, Chair of the Australian Government’s Technology Investment Advisory Council, and Special Adviser to the Australian Government on Low Emissions Technologies.

03 Agriculture and Regional Development Award

Planet Protector Packaging

Goodbye Polystyrene, Planet Protector Packaging Is In The Race To Become The Market Leader In Sustainable Thermal Packaging That Doesn’t Harm The Planet.

Without a healthy ocean there is no “us”. Life is inextricably linked to a healthy and functioning ocean, yet each year 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean with 42% coming from the packaging industry. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is amongst the worst plastic impacting our waterways and oceans.

Their innovative WOOLPACK packaging solutions are reusable, compostable, thermally stable, and unique in the packaging sector.

Website: planetprotectorpackaging.com

Their Australia and New Zealand business is aligned to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 17.

As of FYI2021, their positive impacts are:

the elimination of 3500 tonnes diversion of of waste wool from landfill,

7.5 million polystyrene boxes

$7 million new income for farmers. and generation of

As they successfully scale their operations from their NSW base, their goal is to rebuild the Australian wool processing industry by setting up a new facility to create an onshore sovereign capability to sustainably process wool in NSW. This will help them reduce their carbon footprint and mitigate their reliance on imports.

Additionally, they are working with the University of Wollongong to develop compacting machinery to further reduce shipping volume for freight. Their business model is based on disruption, innovation, and leadership.

PPP exemplifies this by: Removing EPS from our waterways with compostable WOOLPACK solutions, and the continual development of new WOOLPACK product lines. Some of their unique solutions include Vaccine Protector, now approved by Medsafe (authority

for the New Zealand Health Ministry) and being used to rollout Pfizer vaccine in NZ, and Lobster Protector, 2020 Gold winner in the Australasian Packaging Innovation and Design Awards (PIDA) category and winner in 3 categories in 2021 World Star Packaging Awards.

PPP is already meeting the NSW Government’s 7 Strategic Circular Economy Principles of sustainable management of resources, valuing resource productivity, design out waste and materials, innovate new solutions for resource efficiency, create new circular economy jobs and foster behaviour change through education and engagement.

Led by Australia’s first-ever Laureate (South East Asia and Oceania 2020) with the Cartier Women’s Initiative, Joanne Howarth, PPP is driven by the goals of ending our ocean waste crisis, accelerating a global transition to sustainable packaging and a circular economy whilst generating new revenue for Aussie sheep farmers and strengthening our rural communities with the WOOLPACK.

They are proudly disrupting their way through the conventional packaging industry and promoting circular economy, as there is no planet B!

Terrain NRM

Accelerating Progress Towards Reef 2050 Water Quality Targets Through Social Change

The long-term health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef is under threat: after climate change, the most significant challenge is declining water quality, influenced by land-based pollutant run-off.

Terrain NRM has collaborated with farmers and the agricultural industry over the last 10 years on water quality programs. Despite the success of these programs, a new appraoch was needed as the progress towards reef water quality targets was still too slow. A new approach was needed.

Terrain believes that long-term transformational change can only be achieved by engaging the hearts and minds of the local community –and set out to deliver a project that was not just about reef water quality, but also social change.

Website: terrain.org.au

The Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project was a large, intensive undertaking, closely observed and with high expectations due to the scale of investment and the fact that it was the first time a Queensland government-funded project was designed and delivered by the local community.

Key achievements:

Reef Credits

A new market mechanism was developed through the project to attract a broader range of investment into reef water quality. The Reef Credit Scheme trades quantifiable and verifiable units of pollution reduction made by farmers undertaking practice change. The first 24,295 Reef Credits issued at the end of June 2021 were valued at over $1M, and will reduce the runoff of dissolved inorganic nitrogen by over 24 tonnes. The scheme is gaining traction for investment across other Great Barrier Reef catchments.

Legacy While funding for the project ended in 2021, the project leaves an important legacy:

• The grassroots, place-based approach has become an accepted blueprint for subsequent reef water quality projects.

• The Queensland Government has recognised the critical role of credible, relatable water quality monitoring data in influencing change and has committed to a further three years of funding. The Government has also committed to further monitoring of denitrification sites with the greatest potential for transferability and catchment scale implementation.

Staying true to the grassroots approach, landholders continued to shape the project as it was implemented, which resulted in a higher level of farmer engagement than any previous reef project.

325 landholders participated (representing 86% of land under cane and banana production); 23,966 of hectares of land was confirmed as undergoing improved practice change; and an estimated 55 tonnes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen was saved from flowing to the reef.

Local Scale Monitoring

A water monitoring program was designed with landholders and implemented to address the lack of trust in reef science by farmers. The locally relevant program helped farmers to better understand what was flowing off their paddocks. Data and results from 46 ongoing monitoring sites were communicated at shed meetings where farmers could join technical experts in discussions.

Proof-of-concept technology

Acknowledging that not all solutions can be found in paddock practice change, several proof-of-concept denitrification systems were trialled, including bioreactors and constructed wetlands, and a high efficiency sediment basin to capture fine soil particles. The trials showed that vegetated drains and constructed wetlands are the most cost-effective systems for environmental conditions in the Wet Tropics. These have potential as farm runoff treatment systems.

Training and employment for Traditional Owner groups in water quality monitoring has enabled the groups to successfully apply for funding for their own water quality monitoring programs.

Biodiversity Award

Eastern Barred Bandicoot Recovery Team

Species CAN Be Saved From Extinction. The Eastern Barred Bandicoot Is One Such Story.

Against the prevailing global trend of species declines and extinction, the Eastern Barred Bandicoot (EBB) Recovery Team has saved the EBB from near extinction. In an Australian first, the Victorian Government reclassified it from ‘extinct in the wild’ to ‘endangered’ in 2021.

In what may be a world first, the long-term captive breeding and insurance program was closed in 2021, as it was no longer needed. Crucial work in 2019-2021, including the largest ever reintroductions, new habitat and forward-thinking trials, has set the EBB up for a future safe in the wild. This demonstrates that with strong partnerships, a long-term strategic focus and meaningful funding, species can be saved from extinction.

Website: premier.vic.gov.au/eastern-barred-bandicoots-brought-back-extinction

The EBB is a medium sized (<1 kg) shy and gentle native marsupial. Once found across south-west Victoria, EBBs suffered a catastrophic decline due to rapid settlement and land clearing in the 19th century, and the introduction of the red fox. Despite considerable efforts, the last wild population at Hamilton, Victoria, continued to decline.

In 1988, the EBB Recovery Team was formed and all animals that could be trapped were moved to a captive breeding program. The last wild population became extinct. Breeding was quickly established in captivity, which not only provided insurance against extinction, but produced bandicoots for translocation to new sites. Despite a huge effort during the 1990s to establish EBBs at sites across the former range, all but one of these reintroduction attempts failed, largely due to foxes.

From 2004, a new fence design proved successful in excluding foxes altogether and is now used across all fenced reserves. To compliment the almost 2000 ha of fox-free reserves within the original range, the Recovery Team decided to introduce bandicoots to large fox-free islands outside their historic range.

Bandicoots are now establishing across Churchill, Phillip and French Islands, which together provide around 20,000 hectares of suitable habitat. Since 2019 bandicoots were released onto French Island (Attachment 2) and to Victoria’s largest fenced site Tiverton, genepool mixing trials that successfully increased genetic diversity were completed and the team started to release hybrid animals into established populations.

As of 2021, populations of bandicoots are secure across four foxfree fenced reserves and three foxfree islands. The total population size is conservatively estimated at 1,500 and growing. A number of factors contributed to this success story. A willingness to take calculated risks and learn from failures informed an evidence-based recovery strategy. Strong partnerships formed around a unified vision for recovery.

Demonstrated successes gave government and non-government organisations confidence to invest in this program, and island communities fell in love with EBBs permitting the introductions to islands to occur.

This 33-year story shows that with an evidenceled approach, long-term partnerships, innovation, suitable funding, and passionate people, species can be saved from imminent extinction. The future is now bright for the EBB.

Sydney Institute of Marine Science

Living Seawalls Bring Marine Developments Back To Life

Through innovative design that combines ecological and engineering know-how, a team at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science and Reef Design Lab is reviving marine life on concrete coastlines globally.

Structures such as seawalls, pilings, and pontoons are built in growing numbers for shoreline protection, recreational activities, energy generation and to facilitate communications. These structures destroy and replace natural habitats, and can modify the surrounding sea-floor, often with negative consequences for biodiversity and the ecosystem services, on which humans rely, such as maintenance of clean water and fisheries production.

Website: livingseawalls.com.au/

Based on 20 years of scientific research, the team have developed Living Seawalls -- a modular system by which critical habitats for marine life can be added to marine constructions.

Panels, mimicking the habitat features of natural shoreline ecosystems are fitted in scalable mosaics to marine built structures.

The complex panel surfaces increase the habitat area available for colonisation and growth of seaweeds, shellfish and other marine life. They also add protection to marine life from high temperatures and predators. Critically, Living Seawalls panels can be incorporated into new structures, as well as retrofitted into the many existing structures in our harbours, coastlines and oceans.

Since 2018, the team has partnered with Volvo Cars Australia and five Local Governments to install Living Seawalls panels on ten seawalls in Sydney. Additionally, in collaboration with Lendlease they created an underwater garden at Barangaroo. Living Seawalls have also been installed in three other major Australian cities, and internationally in Singapore, Gibraltar and Wales.

The accompanying scientific research program has demonstrated that Living Seawalls enhance seaweeds, fish and invertebrates, such as crabs, oysters and mussels after as little as one year.

The research has also found that the benefits of the panels can extend to enhanced water filtration – and hence cleaning –to fish communities and minimising the establishment of pest species.

The team has developed frameworks for ecologically enhancing marine infrastructure that are being implemented by the multinational company Lendlease and used by the NSW Government to plan major urban renewal projects, such as the Sydney Fish Markets.

Living Seawalls have been featured in government guidance documents such as Fish Friendly Infrastructure and breakwater upgrades. Living Seawalls have been the focus of over 20 local and national print, TV and radio news stories since the first installation in 2018.

The project has generated local, national and international awareness of eco-friendly construction through public seminars and outreach events, stakeholder workshops, as well as through social media.

Living Seawalls has been featured in Landscape Architecture Australia (2020), Sustainability Mag Luxembourg (2020), and in seven national and international exhibitions, including at leading design museums of Europe and America. Living Seawalls is also a finalist for the 2021 Earthshot Prize.

Marine construction is inevitable if we are to provide energy, food, telecommunications and coastal protection to the growing human population.

Living Seawalls provides a solution to ensure marine structures are created, repaired or rebuilt to benefit both humans and nature.

Wildlife Drones

Wildlife Drones Is Revolutionising The Wildlife Monitoring Industry

Wildlife Drones is harnessing the power of drone technology to pioneer autonomous environmental monitoring.

Over the last three years, they have developed a cutting-edge drone-based radio tracking system, VHawk, that enables researchers, conservationists and land managers, to rapidly locate and track multiple animals in real time.

Website: wildlifedrones.net/

The system has two components:

1. A drone-mounted payload, with onboard computer, radio-receiver and Very High Frequency (VHF) directional antenna capable of uploading sensor data.

2. A base station, which receives and processes signal data from the payload, and maps tracking data in real time. The base station syncs to the cloud and enables offline, in-field data analysis including population and trend modelling, using machine learning (ML) methods. With our world-leading technology, users can collect more data, more often, and with less effort, across any terrain.

Their system is the first in the world to enable real time data collection and analysis, without the need for internet connection, which ensures users have the insights they need where it matters most—in the field.

Their system is also the first to enable up to 40 individual animals to be tracked at once, significantly reducing tracking times compared to traditional methods.

They have partnered with clients across five countries to contribute to global efforts to protect, promote and restore terrestrial ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss—key aims of Sustainable Development Goals 14, 15 & 17.

Their radio-tracking technology has been used to monitor over 40 individual species—including some of the world’s most threatened animals like pangolins, kakapo and swift parrots—across a wide variety of ecosystems.

Working closely with their clients has given them a valuable insight into the ways in which our technology enhances biodiversity conservation programs, by enabling better targeted and more responsive interventions, whether that be for invasive species control, or threatened species protection.

Their system is also the first to enable up to 40 individual animals to be tracked at once, significantly reducing tracking times compared to traditional methods.

Their path to developing VHawk hasn’t been straightforward, and they have had to overcome numerous challenges, to bring their idea to market. These include learning to navigate the start-up world, finding the right team, technical hurdles and overcoming barriers to adoption as we broke new ground. These challenges have reinforced the importance of passion, determination and collaboration, which is at the heart of their development philosophy.

Over the next three years they will build on their core technology, to develop and deploy autonomous monitoring pods across terrestrial ecosystems globally. Their automated

drone pods will automatically gather data from a broader range of sensors (including camera traps as well as acoustic and other environmental monitoring sensors) to quantify and monitor the world’s diverse natural capital, and sync this information to the cloud for detailed, real-time analysis and actionable insights.

They are excited by the potential of Wildlife Drones to revolutionise wildlife monitoring, as they transition into this next phase of their journey, and are currently seeking investment to progress their technology.

17 Circular Transition Award

Substation33

Substation33 Is Bridging The Digital Divide Using A Circular Economy Model By Putting E-Waste To Work And Equipping Marginalised People With Training And Devices To Support Digital Inclusion For All.

Substation33 is a Social Enterprise initiative of YFS Ltd established in 2013 by Tony Sharp. Tony saw e-waste as a valuable resource and asked, “How can employment opportunities be created by recycling e-waste?”

Substation33 answered with unquestionable success, yet Tony and the team have not stopped asking more evolved questions such as,“How can Substation33 adjust and transition towards a circular economy model? Can a circular economy model be championed to address e-waste? Can emerging IT industry needs be addressed within a circular economy model?”

Website: substation33.com.au

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020, social connection, economic activity, health consults, and education moved online at an alarming pace that highlighted the digital divide in Substation33’s local community.

Families on low incomes are less likely to have access to digital devices (desktop or laptop computers) at home and they miss "the benefits of digital connection for education, work and social inclusion".

1.A survey of clients of Queensland social services found that 51% of social service users could not afford a device and that geography is a factor in digital exclusion with people outside of the SE Queensland area being "less likely to use digital technologies".

2. Marginalised Queenslanders such as the disabled, Indigenous, and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) are over-represented in statistics that highlight the digital divide.

3.A subset of these groups are students in already marginalised families who have suffered from educational interruptions and ongoing educational disadvantage.

Substation33 saw that the inability to join those digital platforms further alienated already vulnerable people and it gave Substation33 staff the impetus to start answering the above questions. Substation33 noted that large numbers of still serviceable devices were coming in as e-waste and being processed for recycling while so many people needed them. Substation33 decided to change this. It nimbly adapted its operational model from processing and recycling donated devices to sourcing, collecting, data destruction, testing, refurbishing/rebuilding, and distributing devices into the homes of disadvantaged people, with a specific focus on students.

While this project supports Substation33’s mandate to provide meaningful activity, training, and employment pathways to marginalised, long-term unemployed people, it has also instigated collaboration with other organisations who share the determination to bridge the digital divide.

Substation33 has developed partnerships with Australian Computer Society (ACS), Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation (QATSIF), LiteHaus International, and P&Cs Qld.

Together they are:

• Acquiring devices

• Addressing the shortage of IT professionals via training and certifying marginalised, unemployed young people to upcycle those devices

• Distributing those devices to students and others in need;

• Planning to establish regional hubs in Queensland.

To date they have distributed nearly 4000 upcycled computers into their local community, regional areas of Queensland, and beyond.

To complete the circular economy model, when those upcycled devices reach the end of their usefulness they are returned to Substation33 and the regional hubs as e-waste that will be deconstructed, recycled and saved from landfill once again.

1. 2017, Measuring Queensland’s Digital Divide: Australian Digital Inclusion Index, p.5. (https://eprints.qut.edu.au/117018/1/Measuring%2BQueenslan d%27s%2Bdigital%2BDivide.pdf) 2. 2021, McKell Institute QLD, Bridging Queensland’s Digital Divide, p.2. (https://mckellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/ uploads/McKell-QLD_Digital-Inclusion_4PG_PQsingles.pdf) 3. 2017, Measuring Queensland’s Digital Divide: Australian Digital Inclusion Index, p.13. (https://www.pandcsqld.com.au/news-item/7909/see-it-be-it-projects)

Planet Protector Packaging

Goodbye Polystyrene, Planet Protector Packaging Is In The Race To Become The Market Leader In Sustainable Thermal Packaging That Doesn’t Harm The Planet.

Without a healthy ocean there is no “us”. Life is inextricably linked to a healthy and functioning ocean, yet each year 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean with 42% coming from the packaging industry. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is amongst the worst plastic impacting our waterways and oceans.

Planet Protector Packaging (PPP) is on a mission to eliminate polystyrene. They are in a race to become the market leader in sustainable thermal packaging that does not harm the planet.

Website: planetprotectorpackaging.com/

Their innovative WOOLPACK packaging solutions are reusable, compostable, thermally stable, and unique in the packaging sector.

Their Australia and New Zealand business is aligned to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 17.

As of FYI2021, their positive impacts are:

the elimination

7.5 million polystyrene boxes

3500 tonnes diversion of of waste wool from landfill,

and generation of

$7 million new income for farmes.

As they successfully scale their operations from their NSW base, their goal is to rebuild the Australian wool processing industry by setting up a new facility to create an onshore sovereign capability to sustainably process wool in NSW. This will help them reduce their carbon footprint and mitigate their reliance on imports.

Additionally, they are working with the University of Wollongong to develop compacting machinery to further reduce shipping volume for freight. Their business model is based on disruption, innovation, and leadership.

PPP exemplifies this by: Removing EPS from our waterways with compostable WOOLPACK solutions, and the continual development of new WOOLPACK product lines.

Some of their unique solutions include Vaccine Protector, now approved by Medsafe (authority for the New Zealand Health Ministry) and being used to rollout Pfizer vaccine in NZ, and Lobster Protector, 2020 Gold winner in the Australasian Packaging Innovation and Design Awards (PIDA) category and winner in 3 categories in 2021 World Star Packaging Awards.

PPP is already meeting the NSW Government’s 7 Strategic Circular Economy Principles of sustainable management of resources, valuing resource productivity, design out waste and materials, innovate new solutions for resource efficiency, create new circular economy jobs and foster behaviour change through education and engagement.

Led by Australia’s first-ever Laureate (South East Asia and Oceania 2020) with the Cartier Women’s Initiative, Joanne Howarth, PPP is driven by the goals of ending our ocean waste crisis, accelerating a global transition to sustainable packaging and a circular economy whilst generating new revenue for Aussie sheep farmers and strengthening our rural communities with the WOOLPACK.

They are proudly disrupting their way through the conventional packaging industry and promoting circular economy, as there is no planet B!

Logan Water

Australia’s First Biosolids Gasification Facility

Logan City Council’s Logan Water has pioneered an Australian-first – a facility which transforms sewage sludge, or biosolids, into renewable energy and a sustainable product called biochar.

Operational cost savings and carbon credits will return almost $1M a year to the City of Logan, and a new revenue stream will be created from biochar sales. Biosolids gasification will destroy chemicals in biosolids like persistent organic pollutants, and micro and nanoplastics. Carbon emissions will be reduced by about 5,000 tonnes a year.

Website: logan.qld.gov.au/water

Biochar contains nutrients like those found in commercial slow release fertilisers; making it great for healthy soil and plants. Biochar can also be added to soil, asphalt, concrete and bricks to sequester carbon for thousands of years.

LoganWater processes wastewater from around 300,000 people and produces 34,000 tonnes of biosolids annually at City of Logan’s largest wastewater treatmentplant (WWTP) at Loganholme.

Every day, six truckloads of biosolids are transported 300km to an agricultural area to be used as a soil additive. This is a major operating cost for Logan Water; about $1.8M per year or 30% of the operating costs of Loganholme WWTP. Transporting biosolids by truck can also adversely affect communities and the environment through increased traffic, fumes, odours and greenhouse gas emissions. Biosolids management costs are also increasing due to rising electricity prices and fossil fuel costs, population growth and tightening of government regulations associated with carbon reduction and the management of pollutants in soils.

Our breakthrough Working with partners Downer and Pyrocal, Logan Water adapted existing gasification technologies used for processing agricultural waste for biosolids.

Our biosolids gasification works by heating dried sewage sludge in a gasifier at six hundred and fifty degrees Celsius, in a low oxygen environment. This creates biogas, and the recovered energy in biogas powers the facility’s sludge drying and heating processes.

We built a demonstration plant in 2020 to test our solution. This showed that our approach is heat energy neutral and reduces the volume of biosolids for beneficial reuse by around 90%.

It eliminates about 94% of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 63% of micro and nano-plastics in biosolids.

The process does not harm the environment through air emissions, and the resulting biochar contains bio-available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and increases the water holding capacity of soil.

Following the successful gasification trials at Loganholme WWTP, Logan Water has used the results and lessons learned to design and construct a full-scale, permanent gasification facility.

The facility will be operational in the first half of 2022. Our $28M was funded by Council with a $6.2M grant from ARENA. Our legacy Logan Water is paving the way for Australia to take a more sustainable approach to managing the 2.3 million tonnes of dewatered biosolids produced each year (Australian Water Association 2019).

Our process is relatively simple, making it easy for utilities around the country and the world to adopt a similar approach.

Ecologiq

Ecologiq Rethinks Waste To Build Purposely Greener Transport Infrastructure For Victoria

Ecologiq comes at a pivotal time, given the Council of Australian Government’s move in 2020 to ban the export of waste plastic, paper, tyres and glass.

By 2046, Victoria is expected to generate about 40 percent more waste annually than it currently does. The Victorian Government’s Ecologiq program was created to find this waste a new home – as construction materials for transport projects.

Website: ecologiq.vic.gov.au.

A key driver of this change is the Recycled First Policy, which for the first time in Australian history requires transport infrastructure contractors to optimise their use of recycled and reused materials.

The Policy has already resulted in more than 226,000 tonnes of recycled content going into our state’s transport projects, with this material weighing more than Melbourne’s Eureka Tower.

Victoria’s new Mordialloc Freeway exemplifies what the Recycled First Policy aims to achieve, with the project using around 800,000 tonnes of recycled and reused materials. This includes the world’s first 75 per cent recycled plastic noise walls, which have bolstered the project’s reputation as Australia’s greenest freeway.

Other recycled content used includes:

• 46,000 tonnes of recycled asphalt pavement

• 100,000+ cubic metres of crushed concrete

• 340,000+ cubic metres of recycled fill

• 14,000+ tonnes of recycled glass

• 25,000+ tonnes of supplementary cementitious materials (made from industry by-products)

• 3,500 tonnes of recycled steel

• 700+ tonnes of recycled plastic.

More than 10 Victorian suppliers of recycled and reused products were used to deliver the new freeway, generating economic benefits and job security.

New Industry Specification For Noise Walls

As part of this project, Ecologiq helped to develop a new industry specification allowing up to 100 per cent recycled plastic in noise walls on Victorian road projects.

It followed the successful installation of the world’s first 75 per cent recycled plastic noise panels on the Mordialloc Freeway. The panels were made using 570 tonnes of plastic waste – around the same amount collected kerbside from 25,000 Victorian households in a year. They used a mix of hard plastics such as milk and shampoo bottles and soft plastics, including food packaging.

The installation of the revolutionary panels on the Mordialloc Freeway paved the way for the new

specification, which will help future projects utilise recycled plastic in a way that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago. Recycled plastic was also used in drainage pipes and as concrete reinforcement in a product called eMesh on walking and cycling paths.

A

Victorian

Construction

Industry Shift

The Mordialloc Freeway perfectly encapsulates the ambition of the Recycled First Policy, which requires transport infrastructure contractors to optimise the use of recycled and reused construction materials. This signals a huge shift in thinking across Victoria’s construction industry, with the Policy being rolled out across all future Victorian Big Build projects as well as the Department of Transport’s projects from 2022.

27 Clean Technology Award

ACT Government

ACT Government Zero Emissions Fleet Transition.

The Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV) program delivers actions focused on reducing transport related emissions in the ACT Government fleet.

In 2018 the ACT Government adopted the Transition to Zero Emissions Vehicles Action Plan 2018-2021.

This program has been driven by the commitment from the Action Plan to ensure that at least 50% of all newly leased ACT Government fleet passenger vehicles will be zero emissions vehicles in 2019–20 and all newly leased ACT Government passenger fleet vehicles will be zero emissions vehicles from 2020–21 (where fit for purpose), and to provide charging infrastructure to support this transition.

Website: environment.act.gov.au/

In addition, the ACT Government has committed to other initiatives to support the ZEV program including the adoption of 20 hydrogen vehicles and the first public hydrogen refuelling station in Australia; electric truck and bus trials; vehicle to grid trials; a public commitment and plan to transition the bus fleet to zero emissions vehicles; a public commitment to roll out 50 EV fast chargers in 2022 and placing an order for Australia’s first electric fire truck, due for delivery in 2022.

In November 2020, the Parliamentary and Governing Agreement was signed, outlining further actions to reduce emissions from the ACT Government fleet. These actions include implementing a pathway for the ACT to use only zero emissions public transport, garbage trucks, taxi and rideshare vehicles by the mid-2030s, with no further purchase of non-zero emissions buses, deployment of public charging

This action has reduced annual carbon dioxide emissions from Government fleet vehicles by over 400 tonnes.

infrastructure and financial incentives for ZEVs such as free registration for two years. Implementation for the fleet transition has been achieved through dedicated funding to install charging infrastructure across the ACT Government to support the transition.

This work has included electrical reticulation to support increased electrical demand and the continual rollout of chargers predominantly where passenger vehicles are based. The Zero Emission Vehicles team has consulted with all fleet, sustainability and facility managers across government to plan charger installations over time. This coordinated approach has reduced costs and disruption, enabling the transition to progress smoothly.

The rollout of charging infrastructure is accelerating over time, with around 125 fast chargers currently installed with this number expected to rise

to around 350 by the end of 202122. This will include underground parking in the city centre that will provide 50 charging stations in one location, one of the largest in Australia. The Government fleet now consists of 174 ZEVs, making it the largest Government ZEV fleet in Australia, including 20 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, with 17 currently on order and a significantly increased uptake expected as more chargers come online later in the financial year.

The adoption of a large number of ZEVs will stimulate the second hand market, making more affordable ZEVs accessible to the community. The lessons the Government has learned are now being leveraged in the business community through a Fleet Advisory Service, which offers practical advice for business fleets looking to adopt ZEVs.

Degnan Constructions

Degnan Constructions Delivering Challenging Infrastructure Through Innovation.

For this project, Degnan saw the potential to deliver something new and innovative that offered long term benefits for all stakeholders, including the community.

Website: degnan.com.au

Degnan is committed to innovation and has many years of experience working with Transport for NSW Transport on the Transport Accessibility Program (TAP).

They understand the client's commitment to deliver sustainable transport infrastructure projects across the network, so they knew developing a concept that was scalable and transferable was the key to success.

Degnan's vision was to deliver a project that set a new benchmark for innovation in rail infrastructure, focusing on sustainable design concepts seamlessly integrated into the fabric of the station.

Degnan studied the project scope to identify how it could challenge the norm and conceived a solution where a source of renewable energy could be integrated into an essential piece of infrastructure for the Como Train Station upgrade.

A conventional canopy construction is of structural steel and sheet metal; its purpose is to provide shade and shelter. Degnan's innovative redesign incorporates Photovoltaic Glass (PV) as a building material to generate enough solar power to run the entire station's lighting, communications, and general power requirements, as well as providing the required shade and shelter.

Through the strategic positioning of the PV Glass Canopy over a void in the station platform, the solution also allows natural light to filter into a subway that was a community concern due to its previously dark and unappealing ambience. The design and delivery of a PV glass canopy as a source of renewable energy in this way is a first on any Transport for NSW rail network project.

Degnan's goals were to push the boundaries of innovation and collaborate with Transport for NSW to provide the community an asset that reflected a commitment to sustainability. Degnan also wanted to achieve this in a way where the sustainable outcomes were seamlessly integrated into the structural elements of the station and enhanced the overall safety and security of the station.

Degnan's vision was to deliver a project that set a new benchmark in innovation, focusing on sustainable design and construction concepts. This vision began its formation more than two years ago when the idea was first floated on another Degnan project.

The process was slow because of the constraints from stakeholders and a resistance to deviating from time-honoured methods.

The realisation and eventual acceptance of the design demonstrated a clear and direct alignment with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular sustainable cities, industry innovation, clean energy and partnering for success.

By overcoming the temptation to simply deliver a tried and trusted result, Degnan produced a sustainably viable and highly functional piece of infrastructure. Meeting their goals to provide the client and the community with an innovative, sustainable, highly functional, and aesthetically pleasing outcome. Degnan obtained many important learnings throughout the life of this project, both technically and of their abilities.

Degnan knows how to build and continually seek new methods and innovative construction ideas, but for them, the more important legacy is the affirmation that a small project can deliver innovative sustainable solutions. That to learn, influence, and educate can create change.

Net Zero Action Award

The Pimpama River Conservation Area is located on the southern bank of the Pimpama River and borders the Southern Moreton Bay Marine Park and a Ramsar listed wetland.

Hesperia

Hesperia Is Delivering Life Cycle Net Zero Projects That Reduce Environmental Impacts While Contributing To Growth, The Economy, And The Community

Hesperia launched their Sustainability Strategy 2021-2026 to influence better environmental, social and economic outcomes within its operations, across projects and into the wider industry.

The overarching aim of the strategy is to deliver better projects through innovation and partnerships, with Net Zero as the centre piece.

Website: hesperia.com.au/

Driven by genuine response to environmental crises, Hesperia’s primary action to address climate change is to reduce and offset emissions in its operations and projects pledging to:

• Reduce all operational emissions of new and existing built assets.

• Achieve maximum reductions in embodied carbon for new developments and major renovations over which we have direct control.

• Compensate for any residual operational and upfront embodied emissions that cannot be mitigated.

• Advocate for wider emission reductions via our business activities to accelerate a sector wide transition to net zero.

Hesperia has committed to a LifeCycle Net Zero approach on all projects and carbon neutral operations, in addition to objectives around waste and resource consumption, in our day-to-day operations and projects. This ensures Hesperia look for the most efficient way of reducing environmental impacts to zero at every stage.

Committed to a Life-Cycle Net Zero approach by 2030, Hesperia is ambitiously working to meet this target sooner, adopting additional policy to ensure that any necessary offsets are from fully verified sources with 50% of offsets to come from revegetation projects in Australia. Quantitative data confirms a reduction in emissions on its baseline year including Carbon footprint and corporate emissions. Becoming the State’s first developer to achieve B Corp certification verifies the business’ ongoing commitment to upholding the highest levels of operational, social and environmental performance.

Hesperia identified several potential sustainability risks within its projects, however through implementing the Sustainability Strategy, was able to turn these into new business opportunities. This was achieve by expanding the Sustainability Group

with new business streams that are not expected to create large revenue returns, but will turn sustainability objectives into cost neutral or economically positive aspects of the business and projects.

By integrating some of the key resource aspects of projects into internal business streams, Hesperia can set a benchmark to demonstrate how sustainability can be an opportunity and a financially viable part of development in WA.

Hesperia is committed to demonstrating leadership for the industry, ensuring ambitions and lessons learned are communicated transparently. Along with public third-party endorsements and work on research papers that will be published through Curtin University, the business is working on a Sustainability Best Practice conference for early 2022 in collaboration with the Department of Industry.

Hesperia’s Sustainability Group was founded with a clear mandate from the company’s directors to implement initiatives and projects identified in the strategy. The overarching objective is to evolve ‘sustainability’ into business as usual for how projects are delivered.

Hesperia’s Sustainability Strategy is embedded into the company’s foundations, with the cost and personnel requirements a part of the basic project processes. Hesperia commits to only delivering projects that meet its sustainability objectives.

Hunter New England Local Health District

Hunter New England Local Health DistrictSustainable Healthcare - Together Towards Zero 2030

‘Sustainable Healthcare: Together Towards Zero’ strategy is sector transforming. It outlines Hunter New England Local Health District’s (HNELHD) commitment to achieve carbon and waste neutrality by 2030, a first for any Local Health District (LHD) in NSW.

Our trajectory is clear. We need to move from 105,065tCO2-e to 0tCO2-e in 10 years.

Healthcare contributes 7% of total CO2 emissions in Australia. As the largest LHD in NSW, HNELHD saw an opportunity to make impactful changes to the way we operate and be a leading example to the sector.

Website: hnehealth.nsw.gov.au/

Identifying a net zero emissions trajectory for a complex, highly specialised, large healthcare system is particularly challenging. The strategy hinges on a number of key focuses, including investment in solar power, water sustainability, transport, waste management, recycling and energy efficient practices to lighten and, eventually, eliminate the organisation’s carbon footprint.

A major component of the strategy is investment in renewable energy. Solar panels are being installed on the roof of every health facility, including John Hunter Hospital, which will soon be the largest hospital solar panel installation in Australia. $3.2 million is being invested in the 2.4 MW system generating 3,328,200 kWh p.a abating our carbonemissions by 2,700 tonnes annually.

Other key projects which are already making a difference are, recycling water through our recycled renal dialysis project; We are redeploying medical equipment to developing nations and avoiding landfill; We have seen a 71% reduction in the highly polluting desflurance gas

lead by Senior Specialist staff and taking opportunities to create circular economies such as incorporating recycled product into hospital carparks and finding circular solutions for plastics. But we’re not shy about our challenges.

Our challenge has been to bring clinically focused staff to reimagine their service, with a net zero lens. We are doing this by establishing “Net Zero” teams within specific clinical areas, where sustainability champions lead delivery and engagement for sustainability.

We recognise that 60% of a health system’s carbon footprint is from clinical care supply chain, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and equipment. It will be vital to address this if we are to meet our goals.

We have over 180 sustainability champions now, all doing vital work to create change in our district. We are also in the middle of a global health pandemic. As the frontline responder for our community, our focus is on managing the pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped us from

continuing to trial sustainability projects including our plastic needle top collection at our Mass Vaccination Centres which has seen this polluting product be recycled into 750 roller door wheels and 3700 bolt caps for wind towers.

By being an industry disrupter, we have caught the eyes of others who have engaged us to support their transitions to Net Zero. NSW Ministry of Health have now adopted sustainability into their portfolio and The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) have engaged HNELHD to pilot Net Zero projects within the Healthcare sector.

The Sustainable Healthcare: Together Towards Zero’ strategy is ambitious but we are focused on delivering every aspect for the health and safety of our local, national and global community.

Lion Pty Limited

Lion’s Pathway To Net Zero

Lion is Australia’s first large-scale carbon neutral brewer, setting the standard for their industry, and they’ve prioritised direct emissions reduction through projects such as rooftop solar and their pioneering Power Purchase Agreement with their customers in the NSW hotel industry, which helped underwrite the construction of a new solar farm near Narrabri.

As leaders in sustainable brewing, Lion has learned that a lasting, positive impact is built on more than one-off initiatives. Their net-zero journey is a comprehensive program of activity that integrates environmental sustainability into the heart of their planning and everyday business activity. It plays a critical role in fulfilling their core purpose – to champion sociability and help people to live well – and they’ve been ambitious in formulating and pursuing targets to bring it to life.

Website: lionco.com/

By 2025 their beers will be brewed using 100% renewable energy. They’ve committed to reducing their Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 55% and their Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030 (2019 baseline).

In support of the latter, they’ve engaged three of their largest Scope 3 emitters to contribute to a case study under the auspices of the Australian Climate Leaders Coalition to showcase the value of partnerships in accelerating climate action. All remaining emissions are offset with a focus on domestic abatements and projects that generate additional shared value.

They’re also building on their achievements in waste reduction (they were the first brewer to eliminate plastic six-pack rings) to eliminate major sources of plastic in their consumer packaging. Under their plastics pledge, consumer shrink wrap and bottle labels made from plastic will be phased out by the end of the decade.

Conscious of their role as industry leaders and influences, they actively use their marketing channels to promote sustainable initiatives, publicising their green credentials as part of our core value proposition and raising the salience of environmental issues amongst beer drinkers. They want to create a “race to the top” where our peers seek to out-compete each other on sustainability.

Their global footprint plays an important role in their net-zero journey. They progress many initiatives in tandem with international operations; for example their New Zealand operations were certified carbon neutral shortly after their Australian business. They also benefit from the ideas, energy and example of sustainability pioneers such as Colorado’s New Belgium brewery, a relatively recent addition to their network.

To mark Earth Day 2021, Lion’s craft brewery in the US, New Belgium, released an apocalyptic Torched Earth Ale, made with substandard, climate-altered ingredients which illustrated the potential for climate change to touch our everyday lives in striking and unwelcome ways. Undoubtedly the worst beer they have ever made, it attracted international attention as a call to action for the brewing industry.

100% of their packaging will be recyclable by 2025, and at least 50% will be made from recycled content. By the same year they’ve committed to zero avoidable waste to landfill.

Telstra

Telstra’s Environment Strategy: Leading On Climate Action And Delivering Results On Our Journey To Net Zero

In 2021, Telstra released their latest Environment Strategy while also announcing new and ambitious Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions targets. While Telstra believes that setting targets and developing a strategy is important, it is achieving results that matters to Telstra.

Central to Telstra’s strategy is delivering on their commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, in alignment with the Paris Agreement.

Website: telstra.com.au/climate

In the last 12 months, Telstra has made significant progress towards their goals, including:

Keeping on track to achieve the 2030 emissions reduction targets. Telstra has reduced their scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 11% from FY 2019, this includes a 4.6% reduction in the last financial year, despite the rollout of the 5G network and increased demand for data centres. If Telstra continues at this rate, they will exceed the 50% reduction target by 2030. 1.

2. Announcing one of Australia’s most ambitious scope 3 targets –a 50% reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2030. Telstra achieved an 11% reduction in their scope 3 emissions during the first year of the target period.

3. Becoming a carbon neutral organisation through the biggest and most comprehensive voluntary carbon offset program in corporate Australia’s history. Telstra achieved certification through the Australian Government’s Climate Active initiative.

4. Already 34% of the way to achieving the 100% renewable energy generation equivalent to Telstra’s consumption by 2025. When the Crookwell 3 wind farm in NSW starts production in mid-2023, Telstra estimates they will be 46% towards this goal.

Telstra also announced the launch of ‘Telstra Energy’ this year, which will see Telstra build on this portfolio of renewable energy projects.

Telstra Energy will revolutionise the retail energy market in Australia by offering households and businesses carbon neutral energy.

Telstra’s results to date have not only reduced their emissions, created value for Telstra shareholders and delivered for Telstra customers, but have also:

• Helped Australia reduce its emissions and decarbonise Australia’s electricity grid

• Helped Telstra’s suppliers and customers to reduce their emissions, and

• Contributed to a range of SDGs including 7 and 13, but also 8,10, 12 and 17 (as our carbon offset program helps deliver jobs in regional and Indigenous communities). Telstra has come a long way in a short time and while Telstra is proud of the results, Telstra recognises and know the hard work is just beginning.

“Climate change is the defining challenge of the 2020s. It is creating risks that impact our economy, our environment, our communities and each of us individually. That’s why we are pursuing an ambitious decarbonisation program that reduces carbon emissions across our business and our supplier network, encourages our customers to reduce their emissions, and lifts the amount of renewable energy in Australia’s grid.”

Andy Penn – Telstra Chief Executive Officer

UNSW Sydney

UNSW Achieves Net Zero Operational Emissions And Targets Its Value Chain Emissions To Drive Emission Reductions Across The Wider Economy.

UNSW has a long history of ground-breaking teaching and research in fields including climate science, sustainable materials, and solar energy. With over 62,000 students and 6,700 staff, UNSW is a major landowner, consumer, and investor.

Website: unsw.edu.au/

In 2018 UNSW’s President and Vice-Chancellor announced the intention for UNSW to switch to 100% renewable electricity and offset all remaining energy-related emissions from 2020.

Through a 15-year solar PPA, UNSW electricity use is now supplied 100% by Sunraysia Solar Farm. This solar farm, covering 1000 hectares, is one of the largest in the world, and at peak output, generates over 200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 50,000 homes.

Furthermore, UNSW’s own ingenuity underpins this new source of renewable energy, with approximately 140,000 panels using PERC silicon solar technology; pioneered at UNSW by Professor Martin Green and the late Professor Stuart Wenham.

In combination with energy efficiency measures, onsite solar projects and a small portion of carbon credits to offset natural gas and residual emissions, UNSW achieved net zero operational (scope 1 & 2) emissions in 2020. Moreover, under the UNSW Environmental Sustainability Plan 2019-21 UNSW committed to measure and reduce its total (scope 1, 2, and 3) emissions in line with climate science.

In 2020, UNSW undertook a comprehensive GHG inventory aligned to the best practice standard for GHG accounting, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

The assessment included all entities over which UNSW has operational control, and emissions across its entire value chain. The result is the most comprehensive GHG inventory of any university in Australia and found that indirect or ‘scope’ 3 sources (upstream and downstream value chain emissions including travel, purchased goods and services, investments, and waste) were 83% of UNSW’s baseline footprint. Informed by this assessment, in 2020 UNSW Council approved a new target to reduce GHG emissions, following the methodology developed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

In addition to achieving net zero operational emissions from 2020, UNSW will reduce total (scope 1, 2 & 3) emissions on a 1.5°C pathway: 30% by 2025, 50% by 2030, net zero by 2050.

The emissions inventory provides a detailed baseline for tracking UNSW’s remaining emissions and forms the basis for a strategy to achieve UNSW’s net zero target; moreover, UNSW is the first Australian university to account for all scope 3 emissions in its target.

Youth as Our Changemakers Award

Sascha Rust

Sascha Rust Is Building Innovating With Partnerships For The Australian Food System.

The global state of food production and consumption is dire and Australia does not escape. We are overproducing food to make up for up to 50%, which ends up as waste while the world struggles with poverty.

We are losing productive agricultural land through poor practice, and yet many refuse to regenerate. We are tapping the final frontiers of ecological diversity on land and in our oceans in order to satisfy our demand.

Every human on earth is affected by this, and yet most of us do not consider it day-to-day.

Website: au.linkedin.com/in/sascha-rust-2b911777

This is not a failure of the individual, but a systemic challenge requiring entirely new ideas. Drawing from the experiences of farmers, chefs, journalists and policy shapers, it is clear that we need both new solutions, but also new ways of working together.

Seafood is the world’s last remaining wild food source, and one of the most problematic.

Australian’s need digestible access to the voice of science, and our supply chains themselves are failing consumer choice. This sparked the notion that no one organisation can solve a systems issue, but many working together could.

Technologies designed with ethics at their core are a powerful ally to collaboration. By uniting science with technology to verify sources, and innovations that bring food directly from farm or ocean to plate, the certainty of sustainability is becoming possible.

SDG - 17 targets partnerships for Sustainable development –the key that amplifies action amongst the rest.

Building collaborative interventions that focus on effective engagement of all stakeholders may appear a lofty dream, but we are quickly arriving in a place where realising these dreams are our only way forward.

Seaside Scavenge

Seaside

Scavenge: Creating A

World Where Nothing Goes To Waste

Seaside Scavenge is a grassroots environmental organisation whose mission is to activate local communities to reimagine waste as a resource through fun and unique programs that ultimately cleanup the ocean.

They endeavour to educate communities to understand there is no ‘away’ when it comes to rubbish and to introduce them to the concept of the circular economy, which aims to design out waste and pollution and regenerate natural systems.

Website: seasidescavenge.org/

Many people are aware of the problem of waste in their communities but are largely unaware how their actions and behaviours can influence the problem. We use 130 kg of plastic per person each year in Australia but only 9% of that is recycled and 130,000 tonnes of plastic waste makes its way into Australian waterways every year.

It is abundantly clear that we need to dramatically reduce our use of plastic in order to reduce marine plastic pollution. Seaside Scavenge directly addresses this gap in both knowledge and activation. Their events enable people to see the problem of plastic pollution in parks and waterways firsthand and provide them with the skills to make immediate behaviour changes that will help mitigate this problem.

Seaside Scavenge organises a number of different waste education events and programs. The flagship events are the Seaside Scavenges, where litter collected by participants from local waterways and parklands becomes a currency in a pop-up market to purchase pre-loved clothes and other goods that have been donated by the local community.

During these ‘cash for trash’ events, there are live performances by local musicians and talks by local community groups working in waste reduction and environmental conservation.

Seaside Scavenge also offers a 12week long leadership development program called Spring into Scavenge. This provides emerging environmental leaders in rural and coastal communities the skills and mentorship needed to implement the ‘cash-for-trash’ waste education model in their local communities, thereby catalysing social change across the country.

Additionally Seaside Scavenge offers online Lunch ‘n Learn sessions as well as in-person Team Building Days for businesses and councils. Seaside Scavenge has hosted more than 90 events in over 50 communities since 2015.

These events have:

9,335 participants Educated

Seaside Scavenge demonstrates actual behaviour changes in participants using surveys as the main tool to track outcomes. Participants in the 2020 Spring into Scavenge program were surveyed pre, during and post-program in order to capture qualitative data about behavioural and attitudinal changes. The results demonstrate that before embarking on the program, 57% felt confident to run a community activation.

By the end of the program, 100% were confident. This data demonstrates that the program is effectively empowering participants to become catalysts for environmental change in their communities.

1,228 volunteers activated

228,680 Removed kg of litter butts from waterways & &

11,858 kg Reused

15,164 kg of preloved clothes, toys and book

Showcased Inspired

334

160 community groups businesses to participate in the war of waste

Seljak

Seljak Brand’s Closed Loop Recycled Wool Blankets Accelerate The Transition To A Circular Economy.

Website: seljakbrand.com.au

A closed-loop model Karina and Samantha Seljak are two sisters who imagine a world without waste. They founded Seljak Brand in 2016 to find new ways of making and using beautiful things that are closed loop by design.

Seljak Brand’s award-winning blankets are made from factory floor offcuts, deadstock yarn, or postconsumer textiles waste like old woollen jumpers.

After a blanket has enjoyed a long, adventurous life, it can be collected free of charge using a carbon neutral courier service. If the blanket is still usable it will be donated to the ASRC’s Material Aid program, and if it’s damaged and beyond usable it’ll be sent to one of Seljak Brand’s mill partners or Upparel to recycle. There, it will be shredded and spun into new yarn to make future blankets. In this way resources are kept at their highest value for as long as possible.

For every blanket sold, Seljak Brands donates $5 to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) – an organisation that helps people seeking asylum and new migrants feel welcome, safe and supported in Australia.

How Seljak Brand grew after working with Australia’s oldest wool mill for a few years, the mill started running out of waste – which is a good problem to have!

Recycling wool is important because it’s too precious to throw in the bin and generates greenhouse gas emissions if thrown in landfill.

But to divert even more textiles waste from landfill, in 2018 Seljak Brand began manufacturing blankets with a mill in Lithuania that collected its own factory floor waste, and that of 15 other mills around Europe.

Then, after the discovery of an Italian mill that regenerates old woollen jumpers and garments into new yarn, Seljak Brand began using post-consumer waste in their blankets. But because local manufacturing is an important aspect of sustainability, the quest continued to find Australian suppliers.

In 2020, it was found that a mill in Geelong that had a huge warehouse of deadstock yarn (over-ordered upholstery yarn that was getting moth-eaten), which Seljak Brand turned into limited edition blanket runs. Working with both local and global suppliers has been vital as global supply chains continue to be upended by Covid-19, and working with different types of waste enables product innovation.

Change to Seljak Brand's impact to date:

• Diverted 6,900kg of textiles waste from landfill

• Donated $15,195 and 284 blankets to the ASRC

• Spoken to over 2800 people about closing the loop at talks, events and workshops

• Certified the business as carbon neutral though the Carbon Reduction Institute

• Crowdfunded $32,000 to help fund the research and development of using other businesses' textile waste to make more blankets (2017)

• Been granted $30,000 from Macquarie Group to scale waste to-resource business (2018/9)

• Received The Design Files' Sustainability Design Award (2019)

• Been jointly awarded Queensland University of Technology (QUT)'s Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 2021.

Small And Medium Enterprise Transformation Award

The Pimpama River Conservation Area is located on the southern bank of the Pimpama River and borders the Southern Moreton Bay Marine Park and a Ramsar listed wetland.

Green Eco Technologies

Four Seasons Sydney Reduces Their GreenHouse Gases

By 16.3 Tonnes In The First 5 Months

The business cut greenhouse gas emission by 84% using watemaster instead of landfills for organic waste disposal.

Food waste has a major impact on our climate, the global environment and the world population. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations declared that one-third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted annually, causing 14% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Website: greenecotec.com

According to the Australian Government’s Department of Environment and Energy, in Australia alone over three million tonnes of food is wasted by households each year, with an additional 2.2 million tonnes wasted by commerce and industry.

The 2020 Australian National Waste Report estimated that in 2018/19, 85% of non-hazardous food waste was sent to landfills, generating methane gas which does extensive environmental damage – 25 times more damage than carbon dioxide. That’s why the 2019 National Waste Policy Action Plan aims to halve organic waste in landfills by 2030.

In support of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 to ‘Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’, Green Eco Technologies (GET) developed a solution to reduce damaging emissions from organic waste.

GET identified an innovative technology that could be used to convert organic waste, preventing both the emissions of methane in landfills and the CO2 from transporting it there.

The WasteMaster food waste conversion system was created to provide businesses with a simple way to significantly reduce their carbon footprint while banking substantial savings on waste disposal costs.

The compact WasteMaster system allows waste, which was once sent to landfills, to be processed onsite. Within 24 hours, WasteMaster compresses waste into a pathogenfree, nutrient-rich, odour-neutral residue, which is then converted into high-quality compost or renewable electricity - preventing a massive amount of waste, well… going to waste! With only low power and heat required to operate WasteMaster, its value is much greater than its small footprint.

Deakin University research shows that WasteMaster reduces CO2 equivalent emissions by a staggering 84% when compared to landfill disposal.

For every 500kg of waste loaded, WasteMaster outputs approximately 100kg of organic residue. One tonne of this residue can create enough green energy to power 83 homes for a day.

To date, GET has diverted over

of food waste from landfills globally, an incredible 1.5 million kgs 2,600 tonnes

reduction in CO2 equivalent emissions.

By providing the capability to harvest maximum value from unavoidable waste, responsibly managing and conserving resources, WasteMaster also supports Sustainable Development Goal 12 for responsible consumption and production.

WasteMaster incorporates 4G-linked live diagnostics, providing accurate data about the weight of waste loaded and valuable residue generated to assist businesses with sustainability reporting and waste reduction programs.

WasteMaster’s live feed data showed that within 5 months of installing the system, Four Seasons Sydney diverted 10.6 tonnes of waste from landfills - equivalent to a staggering 16.3-tonne reduction in CO2 emissions, producing enough green energy to power 480 homes for a day.

WasteMaster is now used in retail, commercial and industrial sectors worldwide, focusing the attention of businesses on the quantity and impact of their food waste, and helping them take positive climate action.

Blue Eco Homes

The Future Of Healthy Housing Is Here!

Blue Eco Homes focus on delivering healthy, modern homes using environmentally sustainable building solutions and products.

Over the past few years, they recognised gaps in current home building standards in Australia when it comes to environmental sustainability and healthy housing. Determined to find something that went above and beyond the industry standards, they discovered Passive House (Passivhaus).

Website: blueecohomes.com.au/

The Sapphire is the first Certified Passive House display home in Australia and is also the first in Australia (likely the world) to be successfully built to both certified Passivhaus and BALFZ, the highest bushfire attack level standards.

While common in Europe, it is relatively new to Australia. The rigorous, voluntary standards for energy efficiency reduces the building's ecological footprint, resulting in buildings that are more comfortable, healthy and low maintenance for occupants.

From this Blue Eco Homes built their first certified Passive House, the “Sapphire”.

This was challenging as the requirements for the two standards contradicted each other. However, after thorough research and various construction challenges, they were able to create solutions.

This home has been used to educate the industry and the greater community of the benefits of living in a passive-house, by physically allowing people to experience the benefits for themselves, whilst also showcasing bushfire resistant features.

After launching ‘Sapphire’, Blue Eco Homes were looking to improve the process and performance for future Passive-House builds. This led them to develop their own Passive-House Prefabricated wall and roof system called ‘Passive Prefab 5’.

Their system has been modelled to PHPP (Passive House Planning Package) and WUFI (hygrothermic analysis) tested to avoid condensation and moisture, achieving watertight, weather tight and air tightness of V0.28 air changes/hour on baseline testing (aiming for 0.6 or lower air changes/hr to meet Passivhaus standard) and is suitable for both residential and commercial construction.

Blue Eco Homes have successfully used this prefab system in two completed passive house builds and a further two builds under construction, with several more homes currently in design.

Old Tech Creating Social, Environmental And Economic Impact

Enable is an innovative not for profit social enterprise tackling disadvantage in the Hume labour market region in Melbourne’s north where unemployment is 46% higher than that of the national rate, whilst stepping up to meet the 60% to 2024 e-waste recycling increase from Victoria’s 1 July 2019 landfill ban.

Participation rates for people with a disability in the workforce are reported at 52.9% across the country, placing Australia 21 out of the 29 OECD countries. These facts show there is a dire need for enterprising and innovative solutions to tackle these key social, environmental, and local economic issues at hand.

Website: enableaustralia.org.au

What makes Enable unique is an enterprise model that successfully manoeuvres around the often-complex balancing act of delivering social, environmental and economic outcomes through successful business operation in the e-waste recycling, online retailing and warehousing and fulfillment services sector, without recurrent government service provider funding.

Enable’s achievements are attributed to an innovative approach to process employability skills training. It ensures program participants and a crew of all abilities are included in the standard operating procedures activities, which builds confidence, self-esteem and teamwork, as well as technical work skills.

Strongly sitting within the mandate of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 for decent work and economic growth, Enable has made a strong local contribution to creating 16 employment pathway outcomes at Enable to December 2020 and more recently an additional 9 paid jobs during 2021 for young people with disability.

Results as at 31st December 2020 show Enable have worked with:

1,024 34,767 participants hours of employability skills

12,062 paid work hours to support local economic development in Hume Local Government Area.

Enable has also diverted 227 tonnes of decommissioned tech, which shows strong commitment to sustainability and enterprising ideas for reuse, repair and repurposing. Initiatives include fixing pre-loved technology, renting equipment out for TV productions, wheels and broken pallets getting a new life as outdoor furniture, and old monitor stands being re-purposed as signs to assist the Enable crew with employability skills.

Driven by Enable’s collaborative approach to impact, initiatives with government and community services has resulted in a broad and lasting reach to local community in need, including people with disability, mental health, migrants, older residents, and offenders.

The sucessful partnership with the Department of Justice started a work program in 2017, and has now grown to 475 offenders with 12,886 employability skills hours, whilst diverting around 10 tonnes of e-wastefrom landfill. Enable’s Toner recycling has also contributed to 309km of local roads.

Enable works with some of Australia’s most well-known companies that drives social, economic, and financial impact whilst providing a “direct hit” on their strategic sustainability and social impact goals. Enable’s legacy is a leading-edge not for profit social enterprise model where 100% of profit is reinvested into programs, partnership, and microsites to expand Enable’s social, environmental and economic impact. Enable do not currently receive recurrent government service provider funding.

GeelongPort

Because We Live Here TooGeelongPort Environment Strategy - A Success Story

GeelongPort believes in achieving positive, long-term environmental outcomes for its business and region. In 2019, GeelongPort released its inaugural Environment Strategy with the bold vision to become Australia’s most environmentally sustainable bulk port.

GeelongPort firmly believes it has an obligation to Geelong and Victoria to continually improve the sustainability of its operations, and it recognises a significant opportunity to lead environmental progress for the industry and broader society.

GeelongPort aligned its Environment Strategy to the UN Sustainable Development Goals to focus its local contribution towards global issues and provide a means to demonstrate progress.

Website: geelongport.com.au

The strategy release followed a collaborative, co-design process involving employee representatives from across GeelongPort operations.

Its employees told GeelongPort that the protection and conservation of Corio Bay was important to them, and this became the focal point for the strategy which categorises the organisation's priority actions into four focus areas:

1. Minimising resource use

2. Eliminating waste and emissions

3. Nurturing our port land

4. Supporting an appealing and healthy Corio Bay and environs

Whilst the development of an Environment Strategy is not unique in itself, GeelongPort has used the commitments made in the strategy to transform its business. The strategy has provided GeelongPort with a decision-making framework to accelerate progress in reducing its environmental footprint and integrating sustainability into all elements of the business.

An integral element of the implementation of GeelongPort's Environment Strategy is building strong partnerships. GeelongPort is incorporating a Caring for Country approach into its business operations, and this is reliant on cultural education and indigenous knowledge sharing through a partnership with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.

Since the launch of the strategy, GeelongPort has taken a number of significant actions towards becoming Australia’s most environmentally sustainable bulk port, including:

• Becoming the first port in Australia to receive Climate Active carbon neutral certification for its business operations.

• Receiving global recognition for its Environment, Social and Governance practices, significantly improving its Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) rating from 2 stars to 5 stars in only the second year of participation in the program.

• Becoming the first port in Australia to make a Science Based Target commitment in line with a 1.5 degree Celsius warming scenario.

GeelongPort is also partnering with two leading Geelong region organisations to form the Barwon Region Renewable Energy Project (BRREP), to transition towards 100 per cent renewable electricity and zero net emissions through the implementation of a Power Purchase Agreement.

The GeelongPort Leadership Team and Board is committed to seeing this strategy be delivered and continues to support the implementation of the organisation's Environment Strategy with sufficient budgetary approvals to ensure the business can work hard to achieve its goal. While there has been an immense amount of progress in a short time, GeelongPort recognises there is always more to be done, as it works towards its vision of becoming Australia’s most sustainable bulk port.

63 Large Enterprise Transformation Award

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House – Inspiring Cultural Change For The Global Goal

The Opera House has always been an important symbol to our community, so in 2019 we became the first Australian cultural institution to make a commitment to achieving the Global Goals.

The Global Goals recognise that for our world to prosper and truly be sustainable, ending inequalities and looking after our environment must go hand in hand. In this way, we are weaving the Goals across everything we do to unite us in inspiring positive change.

Since 2019, we have embedded the Goals into all our strategies and plans; introduced an ‘inspiring positive change’ goal in our performance agreement process, empowering all staff to take action; galvanised our staff through a range of activities that raise awareness of the

Website: sydneyoperahouse.com/

Goals to inspire positive change at work and at home; brought our community together through thought-leadership panels and providing the Australian stage for Global Citizen Live, and expanded our partnerships by welcoming our first Global Goals Partners Honeywell and Dettol.

The Goals have supported us in achieving our mission to inspire and strengthen the community through everything we do.This has enabled significant progress in driving change.

Highlights over the past two years include:

• Maintaining carbon neutral certification which included offsetting nearly 13,000 tonnes of carbon in FY21 (Goal 13.1, 13.3).

• Recycling more than 86% of operational waste from restaurants, venues and events and over 90% of construction waste from capital works projects - exceeding both recycling targets (Goal 12.5).

• Eliminating all single-use plastic takeaway packaging on site by introducing compostable takeaway packaging in all venues (Goal 12.5).

• The completion of the artificial reef research project. Eight new marine species were identified around the SOH artificial reef. This was documented in a learning resource and educational video which has been distributed to over 3000 school students (Goal 14.1).

• Over 95% of office paper containing recycled content (Goal 15.5).

• More than 100 accessible performances and programs offered (Goal 10.2).

• A range of accessible and all inclusive community engagement activities and events hosted as part of the NSW Government’s Culture Up Late program, including Every Body Dance

• Now and the Indigenous-led and culturally diverse musical showcase – Barrabuwari – to celebrate Sydney’s vibrant arts and cultural community. The initiative attracted more than 20,000 visitors to the site and engaged more than 370,000 online (Goals 8.9, 10.2).

• Celebrating cultural heritage and amplifying First Nations voices with over 460,000 visitors attending the Badu Gili sails lighting experience since 2017 (Goal 11.4).

• For Global Goals Week 2021, SOH hosted the Australian segment of Global Citizen LIVE, featuring an Acknowledgement of Country by Cathy Freeman, special performance by Delta Goodrem, and call to climate action by Celeste Barber. The collective result was over 60 million COVID-19 vaccines purchased, 157 million trees planted and US$1.1 billion committed to climate, famine, and COVID response efforts (Goals 17.17, 17.18).

• 80 Opera House staff participating in Sydney’s 2020 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras with a float called House of Love, supported by then-Major Partne Energy Australia, contributing to the Opera House’s reputation as a proud place for LGBTIQ+ voices (Goals 10.2, 10.3)

As we approach our 50th anniversary in 2023, we continue to look for more opportunities to work with like-minded organisations, combining forces to tackle the most urgent issues of our time.

Using the Opera House’s 50th anniversary as a platform to generate change on a local, national and global level, we are focusing on our strengths to drive a ripple effect: connecting the community and inspiring positive change through the power of art and culture.

Coles Group Limited

Coles Has An Ambition To Become Australia’s Most Sustainable Supermarket

Coles has an ambition to become Australia’s most sustainable supermarket. As part of this ambition, in June 2021 Coles released its Sustainability Strategy, under two focus areas‘Together to Zero’ and ‘Better Together’.

Together to Zero sets its ambitions of together to zero emissions, zero waste and zero hunger. Better Together recognises that when we work together, we can make a real difference to our team members, our suppliers, our customers and to the communities in which we live and work.

Website: colesgroup.com.au/sustainability/?page=sustainability-report

These two focus areas apply directly to Coles and its stakeholders, highlighting where Coles feels it can make the most difference.

While Coles has been on its sustainability journey for some time, it officially launched its Sustainability Strategy in June 2021, which has been supported by a significant communications strategy, both internally and externally. The start of the Sustainability Strategy communications campaign was in March 2021, at the launch of its sustainability concept store in Moonee Ponds, Victoria – where Coles announced its energy and greenhouse gas emission targets as part of Together to Zero.

At the same time, Coles unveiled its sustainability icon. This original artwork design was created for Coles by Bundjalung/Biripi artist Nikita Ridgeway of Boss Lady Design and Communication. The icon is unique to Coles and serves as a strong point of recognition for Coles’ Sustainability Strategy and initiatives.

Coles’ Sustainability Strategy is supported by internal and external campaigns. Externally, Coles has launched its sustainability concept store in Moonee Ponds, Victoria in March 2021;

released its Sustainability Strategy in June 2021; launched its first sustainability focused marketing campaign in July 2021; and continued communication to its investors through its Investor Strategy Day and 2021 Sustainability Report.

The Sustainability Strategy has been supported by internal activation to bring Coles’ 120,000 team members along on its sustainability journey. This included its second Sustainability Week held in May 2021 and Sustainability Day in September 2021.

Coles also launched its sustainability education series for team members which is centred on the UN SDGs and aims to have external experts talk on various sustainability topics that are of interest to Coles’ team members. Sustainability, for some, is still relatively new, therefore the biggest challenge has been communicating to varying levels of knowledge in a consistent and simple manner.

Individuals consume information differently, and it was important that Coles made sure it reached out to all these stakeholders in ways in which they best received information. Each stakeholder group remains at varying levels of understanding of key elements of Coles’ Sustainability Strategy and therefore it needed to make sure it was communicating it in a manner that can be understood by them in their preferred channel.

Coles recognises it cannot do this alone, and its Sustainability Strategy will require collaboration across thousands of supplier and industry partners as working together is key to success.

Goodman Fielder Pty Limited

Turning Bold Ambition Into Action: Goodman Fielder Is Making Everyday Food Better For Everyone.

In 2021, Goodman Fielder (GF) launched ‘Better Together’, an ambitious sustainability strategy designed to help embed sustainability across the company’s business, culture, brands and products.

Developed to support global efforts to deliver the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the ‘Better Together’ strategy builds on previous achievements and kicked off with nine progressive sustainability goals.

GFs well-known brands such as Helga’s, Wonder White, Pampas and Praise are found in 90% of Aussie homes presenting a big opportunity, and responsibility to achieve sustainability impact at scale by delivering local solutions to global challenges, turning bold ambition into action and building on a strong track record.

Website: goodmanfielder.com/sustainability/

Driving progress against the four key focus areas of better products, better planet, better business and better communities provides GF with a pathway to living their purpose and ensuring food is a force for good.

In 2021, GF accelerated action against these nine goals, with a focus on net zero emissions, food waste and utilising sustainable and recyclable packaging. In July, GF switched to 100% Renewable Electricity across their owned/ operated facilities reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by over 60%. Delivering this impressive milestone 4 years ahead of target sets the foundation for a pathway to zero emissions and compliments a range of investments in energy efficiency.

Leveraging years of sustainable packaging innovation, GF has reached new milestones in the use of food grade recycled content, designing for recycling and investing in consumer education on recycling and closing the gap between what can be recycled versus what is recycled.

To inspire the next generation, the Wonder Recycling Rewards Program engaged:

Praise mayonnaise, aioli bottles and jars to 100% recycled post-consumer PET will save 380 tonnes of virgin plastic each year and the introduction of recyclable cardboard bread tags, made from 100% recycled content is expected to eliminate over 200 million items of single use plastic each year.

to collect and recycle bread bags and soft plastics, collecting over

400,000 1000+ 6,000kgs students across schools of plastic

(the equivalent of 1.7M bags).

This plastic was used to create play equipment and Polyrok, a sustainable building material, and is being returned to the very schools where the plastic was collected. A true example of circular economy.

To sustain this momentum, the artwork on Wonder White and Helga’s products has been updated with front of pack recycling messages and the ARL has been applied to over 100 GF products. Tackling food waste delivers on many of GFs sustainability priorities.

As a food company, GF aims to eliminate waste across their operations through behavior change, capital investment, process improvement, monitoring and partnering with community organisations. Taking the successes from within GFs own operations to a full supply chain view, including into Aussie homes is magnifying the impact.

Helping consumers reduce food waste at home saw the expansion of the Pampas Re-pie-cling campaign to promote the upcycling of leftovers and the introduction of a mini-loaf range for both Wonder White and Helga’s to meet the needs of smaller households.

We are proud of how far we’ve come and that our employees, customers, consumers and the broader community have embraced Better Together and our vision to make food a force for good.

Officeworks

Officeworks Strives To Inspire Positive Change With Our Commitments To Support Our Team, Community, And The Environment.

The achievements we saw through our 2020 Positive Difference Plan changed the way we operate as business, putting people and planet at the heart of what we do.

Website: officeworks.com.au/

Our 2025 commitments include supporting our team to be the best versions of themselves, enhancing our contribution to the community, continuing to uphold and respect human rights, taking meaningful climate action, contributing to a more circular economy and helping our customers shop more sustainably.

In 2021, we have seen real progress towards achieving those commitments. The safety, health and wellbeing of our team and customers remains our absolute priority, and we have significantly increased our focus and investment in this area in the last year, resulting in our safest year ever.

We have also focused on building meaningful employment opportunities for the Indigenous community, with Indigenous team members now representing 3.8% of our team, as we strive to better reflect the communities in which we live and work.

We have come together as a community like never before, contributing over $6.4m to community organisations thanks to the generosity our team and customers.

Our 2021 Back to School Appeal was our most successful to date, sponsoring 3,525 students on The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program, and Round Up to Make a Difference campaign contributed more than $1m to support 17 mental health and education organisations across Australia.

We started to transition to 100% renewable energy usage by 2025 with the rollout of onsite solar energy systems, made further progress as we worked to become a zero-waste business (by recycling 91% of all operational waste), and

embedded innovative circular economy solutions, such as our award- winning partnership with the World’s Biggest Garage Sale.

We know our customers want to make sustainable choices. Our Restoring Australia program plants 2 trees for every 1 used (through the sale of our paper products), with 794,000 trees planted across Australia to date. We upgraded customer recycling stations in stores to make it easier to recycle unwanted products, and also launched our Greener Choices range, with almost 2,000 sustainable products available to purchase.

Our success is shared, and all of these achievements would not be possible without the support of our team, customers and partners. With their help we are able to continue delivering on our promise to help make bigger things happen.

73 Sustainable Tourism Award

Gemtree Wines

Biodynamic Wines Grounded In Earth.

Gemtree Wines is a third-generation family owned organic and biodynamic certified winery in McLaren Vale, South Australia. Gemtree believe it is their responsibility to improve the land for future generations and that it is important to educate visitors about sustainability, organic, and biodynamic practices across viticulture, wine-making, and tourism.

Gemtree are dedicated to continuous improvement in sustainable tourism and educating others about the importance of responsible production and consumption.

Website: gemtreewines.com/

Gemtree take a holistic approach to sustainability; sustainability is infused from ‘seed’ to experience. Their viticulture and winery are certified organic and biodynamic (ACO) and certified sustainable (Sustainable Winegrowing Australia).

The quality of the soil and environment is critical to the quality of Gemtree’s organic/biodynamic wines; this ethos is reflected in their tasting room, which is built to minimise environmental impacts. The structure is raised on stilts to minimize impact on soil and water flow. Built using recycled materials, the tasting room is powered by solar panels and uses only recycled rainwater.

Sustainable, organic and biodynamic principles are not only core to Gemtree’s wines, but also to their visitor experiences. Gemtree offer wine experiences that focus on sharing their passion and dedication to sustainable, organic, and biodynamic practices via educational and experiential means.

These tours also aim to raise awareness about the environmental and social benefits of Gemtree’s philosophies. The Being Biodynamic tour educates guests about Gemtree’s minimal impact practices that are critical to the health of the vineyard and the local community. The biodynamic display offers guests an interactive educational experience about organic and biodynamic preparations and sustainable farming practices. Gemtree also fuse nature-based tourism and wine tourism in another signature tour, “Wine and Wander”.

After a guided, educational tasting of Gemtree’s certified organic/ biodynamic wines, guests visit the Ecotrail to enjoy lunch catered by a local restaurant that also uses local organic produce. The Ecotrail was 10-hectares of barren land previously used for cattle grazing.

In 2001, Gemtree Wines partnered with Greening Australia to regenerate the biodiversity in the area via planting over 50,000 native plants. This is critical to this day since the biodiversity that has been cultivated in the Ecotrail also contributes to the biodiversity of the vineyard. The Ecotrail is also available to all visitors and community, free of charge, serving as a natural space for both residents and visitors to enjoy. This year, Gemtree made it more family friendly by installing a playground and offering a kid’s educational activity about native plants/animals.

Gemtree also includes locally sourced food in their tasting platters. Among its most innovative is the Native Tasting Experience. Introduced in 2021, this experience features a food platter with all native ingredients, including ingredients derived from Gemtree’s onsite organic/biodynamic vegetable garden and orchard. In 2021, Gemtree launched an Aboriginal cultural experience in partnership with a senior cultural custodian.

The experience is the first of its kind, cultural immersion in the region. The Senior Custodian guides guests through the Ecotrail as he shares traditional stories, followed by a guided tasting and native food platter.

Kestrel Nest EcoHut /

Farm & Woodland

Mutual Benefit - Eco-Tourism, Farming, Reconcilliation And Conservation Working Together

Armed with nothing more than a love of the environment, concern for climate change and the extinction crisis, Louise Freckelton and David Bray left their inner-city Sydney home for Highfield 820 acres (333 hectares) of land near Adelong NSW.

They chose Highfield as two-thirds of the property was secured under a conservation covenant protecting critically endangered Box Gum Grassy Woodland. To honour this endangered habitat, they renamed the property Highfield Farm and Woodland.

Website: highfieldfarmwoodland.com

From the start, there was no grand plan. As they got to know the property, they saw opportunities for farm enterprises that leveraged and complemented their environmental goals. They realised that farm income and habitat protection need not be mutually exclusive.

The driving force for all subsequent business development therefore had to complement, promote and enhance their conservation mission. Their insight that farming and conservation should not be seen as opposites meant they began to think of the whole property differently. The 1/3 farmland and 2/3 protected woodland, were no longer considered separate realms, but rather a continuum of degraded landscapes that equally demanded conservation action.

In short, they decided to turn the entire property into a conservation area. But this did not mean they had given up on farm business. On the contrary, they re-conceived their grazing paddocks as sites for the regeneration of native grasslands and paddock tree restoration enhancing, rather than undermining their prime lamb business.

In 2019 they began to build Kestrel Nest EcoHut and off-grid and offline nature retreat powered by solar panels and battery storage. Supremely insulated and using timber sourced from the property and recycled materials where possible, Kestrel Nest is a model for sustainable living and provides the perfect platform for guests to turn off from screens, re-connect with nature, learn about farming with habitat and view the incredible bird diversity on Highfield Farm and Woodland.

Since 2012, with no previous experience in agriculture or tourism, they have established an award-

winning gourmet lamb business and a successful eco-tourism business –Kestrel Nest EcoHut and Farm Tours, while nurturing the farm through the challenges of climate change, including drought and bushfires.

The restored native grasslands on their stunning property is now a magnet for artists and dancers including arts projects by First Nations artists keen to perform on Country and sound recordists eager to capture the sounds of biodiversity on critically endangered habitat.

Highfield Farm and Woodland and their guest accommodation Kestrel Nest showcase just what is possible when eco-accommodation is only a small part of a propertywide eco-endeavour.

Host to around 140 bird species and an increasingly diverse area of critically endangered Box Gum Grassy Woodland habitat, Kestrel Nest EcoHut and Highfield Farm and Woodland offer a compelling vision and model for how eco-tourism, farming, reconciliation and habitat conservation can work together for mutual benefit.

Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort

Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort Achieves 100% Renewable Energy Goal.

Lady Elliot Island is a self-sufficient 44-room eco-resort which offers unique nature-based experiences, as well as protecting and enhancing the surrounding environment through innovative partnerships, conservation programs and innovative technologies.

Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort is Advanced Eco-Tourism Certified and Climate Action Leader certified with Ecotourism Australia. The last annual Ecotourism Australia audit awarded 99% compliance and proof of ecotourism excellence and above industry best practice benchmark. Since 2005, Peter Gash (Managing Director) embarked on a long-term program of achieving best practice sustainability across all elements of the eco-resort.

Website: ladyelliot.com.au/

WINNER 2022

The main goal was to achieve 100% renewable energy by December 2022, all while conserving the area's World Heritage values.

Implementing sustainability initiatives on a remote, off-grid Island is a substantial challenge. The Resort must produce its own electricity and water, treat all water and sewage and remove all waste whilst adhering to our sustainability objectives of minimal impact on the planet, and operating within a World Heritage Listed Marine National Park. The team at Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort have placed a strong focus on the solar renewable energy program with the addition of over 1000 solar panels and 8 more battery banks, since the first Hybrid Solar Power Station was built in 2008.

In 2019, the goal to achieve 100% renewable energy by December 2022 was set. Fast forward only one year and this goal was achieved in December 2020, with the resort being solely powered by renewable energy. This approach has been acknowledged as a team effort which required dedication, problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt and overcome challenges.

Throughout operations, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort works closely with stakeholders, including government, private industry and community on

partnerships to support innovative programs. These relationships are key to their success. To ensure the goal of being carbon neutral is achieved, the resort continuously carbon-offsets through a revegetation program consisting of planting native flora/ fauna and composting food waste.

As part of the carbon-offset program, over 5000 trees have been planted on Lady Elliot Island in the past 12 months. The total over the life of the program is more than 10,000 and includes removing invasive species from 11 hectares of revegetated land.

Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort aims to get the sustainable message out by working with and providing in-kind support to media/news outlets to raise awareness about the sustainable

initiatives and eco practices of the Resort. Cash and in-kind support is also provided to community organisations with supporting values. Initiatives that foster a greater understanding of conservation and community involvement include inspiring Eco-Warriors in the community who act on conservation and climate change mitigation.

The key message relayed to all guests who visit Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort is...“Together we can make a difference”.

Passions of Paradise

Playing An

Active Role In Reef Conservation Through Promoting Sustainability, Science, And Partnerships

Passions of Paradise has been dedicated to reef conservation for decades as a high-standard tourism operator on the Great Barrier Reef. Born from the founder’s quest for an “endless summer”, the company was founded as a way to show tourists the reef and promote conservation.

In the past five years, the team at Passions have been increasing their partnerships with a wide variety of universities, conservation agencies, and community organisations.

The Great Barrier Marine Park Authority’s 2019 Outlook Report states that the single greatest threat to the long-term viability of the reef ecosystem is climate change. That same report, however, highlighted the high value of on-ground management collaborations between stakeholders.

Website: passions.com.au

The team at Passions of Paradise decided, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic slowdown, that the only way forward to promote the long-term sustainability of the reef and thrive as a business was to partner in a wide variety of science and research projects. With access to 39 sites in the Cairns area with plenty of room on the vessel due to lower passenger numbers, Passions was uniquely positioned to offer a wide array of support to university research, NGO initiatives, government survey programs, and traditional owner visits.

The result has been an improved visitor experience, better managed reef sites, access to a wider array of knowledge and experience, and a deeper appreciation from staff and guests alike for the resilience of the reef ecosystem.

In these partnerships, crew members have conducted over 1,500 surveys for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s Eye on the Reef monitoring program.

They have planted over

5,000 14 coral fragments

coral nurseries and created as part of a joint program with the University of Technology Sydney.

They have worked with researchers from Griffith University to develop a 3D VR app designed to promote

education on reef structure and partnered with local indigenous sea rangers to monitor traditional sites. They also took part in the Great Reef Census 2.0 with Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, conducting 69 surveys over a 5-day trip to the Ribbon Reefs that saw the largest team of allfemale marine biologists in history.

After identifying the benefit of this diverse range of partnerships, Passions of Paradise created a dedicated “Citizen Science” day to showcase their efforts to their passengers. In addition, the daily marine biology presentation presents guests with a background on the company’s sustainability philosophy and updates on its conservation efforts. The company is carbon neutral and provides opportunities for guests to donate to offset their carbon as well.

As the world opens back up, Passions of Paradise will continue these partnerships, as they not only align with the UN SDG of Partnerships (SDG 17) but promote elements of Quality Education (SDG 4), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Climate Change (SDG 13), Life Below Water (SDG 14) and Life on Land (SDG 15).

Tasmanian Walking Company

Conserving The Natural Environment And Culture Of The Australian Wilderness For Generations To Come. We’re Committed To Raising $ 1 million.

Tasmanian Walking Company is a recognised leader in environmental travel practices and has the special privilege of operating multi-day guided walks in some of Tasmania’s most spectacular and world renown wilderness areas.

Tasmanian Walking Company understands that operating in national parks comes with a clear obligation in terms of preserving the integrity of these wild spaces. In 2020 the decision was made to establish the Tasmanian Walking Company Foundation with a commitment of donating $1 million.

Website: facebook.com/taswalkingco

Brett Godfrey, Tasmanian Walking Company Co-owner said, "We are celebrating our ongoing commitment to nature and inspiring positive change by launching the Tasmanian Walking Company Foundation. This marks an important milestone in centralising our philanthropic efforts in our pursuit to raise a deeper awareness of environmental stewardship.

The Foundation’s launch came with ambitious goals to increase awareness of ecological and environmental issues, improve education and engage in Australian cultural heritage and actively participating in conservation field projects for future proofing these special areas.

These goals are currently being achieved through the Foundation’s major projects, including a collaboration with Seedbank Tasmania collecting over 320,000 seeds of endangered and endemic plants on the Overland Track, a cultural fire management project bringing together Indigenous fire practitioners from across the country to share knowledge and identify opportunities for coordinated fire management practices, and the Discovery Ranger program which encourages local understanding and advocacy of conservation sites through hosted public events.

The vision was to inspire people to connect with and conserve the natural environment and culture of the Australian wilderness, for the generations to come adopting a boots on the ground approach.

In addition, the Foundation currently supports WWF’s Regenerate Australia project, Conservation Volunteers Australia’s Wild Futures campaign to restore threatened ecological communities and remove weeds on Kangaroo Island, A Habitat Establishment Project on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia to support the establishment of Steppingstone Habitat for the Glossy Black Cockatoo and various Raptor Refuge and Wildcare Tasmania initiatives.

Projects to date have largely been funded by the Foundation’s own Australian bushfire relief appeal and Tasmanian Walking Company contributions. Future fundraising initiatives include the creation of a national walking movement with the ‘Walk for Wild’ event series on 9 October 2022. The event will be

supported by the sale of 48 donated walks in partnership with WWF in aid of Regenerate Australia which the largest and most innovative wildlife and landscape regeneration program in Australia’s history.

A branded merchandise program will be launched in 2022 with all proceeds donated. The Foundation also provides a platform for Tasmanian Walking Company guests to give back to the wilderness areas they visit and in turn, help conserve the natural and cultural heritage.

The Foundation has donated over $169,000 since commencement with 100% of money raised by the Foundation going to directly to projects.

Zoos Victoria

At Zoos Victoria, Fighting Extinction Begins With Sustainability.

Zoos Victoria is a world-leading zoo-based conservation organisation, dedicated to fighting wildlife extinction. Its three zoos - Healesville Sanctuary, Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo - connect more than

2.5 million people annually to wildlife, each providing an unique and immersive experience that attracts visitors from around the world and inspire animal lovers of all ages.

Website: zoo.org.au/fighting-extinction/sustainability/

Climate change is threatening the ongoing existence of the diverse wildlife that shares our planet. As a zoo-based conservation organisation, Zoos Victoria is committed to fighting wildlife extinction and consider it their duty and purpose to urgently tackle the devastating threats from climate change, through their own actions, those of the community and in their vast and varied work for wildlife.

They are influencing people to demand change, inspiring wildlifefriendly actions amongst its millions of visitors, members and supporters for a future rich in wildlife.

Zoos Victoria wants people to be in awe of animals for what and who they are, not what use they are to us.

They achieve this through community conservation campaigning that inspires conservation action, investing in innovative social science research, and promoting evidence-based management to support animals in their care to thrive.

They want to encourage people to connect with animals and appreciate them in a way that fosters respect for the wildness and intrinsic value of both the individual and the species. This has seen the development of their new guidelines for animalvisitor experiences, an ethical framework that promotes eco-centric encounters that are focused on the animals needs/wishes and voluntary participation for the animal.

At Zoos Victoria, fighting extinction begins with sustainability. As the world’s first independently-

certified Carbon Neutral zoos, they work hard on carbon reduction and environmental sustainability, committing to 100% renewable energy across their three zoos, recycling 1000ML of water annually, and diverting almost 90% of waste from landfill in 2020.

Through their new Environmental, Social and Governance Procurement Framework, they are shaping a more sustainable industry by asking suppliers to ensure products meet their standards, from the packaging in the catering outlets and retail stores, to ensuring food for animals in their care is ethically sourced.

By strengthening the connection between people and wildlife, Zoos Victoria aims to mend human relationships with the natural world and to help shape wildlife friendly attitudes, beliefs and actions for a sustainable future.

Communication For Impact Award

Coles Group Limited

Coles Has An Ambition To Become Australia’s Most Sustainable Supermarket.

Coles has an ambition to become Australia’s most sustainable supermarket. As part of this ambition, in June 2021 Coles released its Sustainability Strategy, under two focus areas‘Together to Zero’ and ‘Better Together’.

Together to Zero sets its ambitions of together to zero emissions, zero waste and zero hunger. Better Together recognises that when we work together, we can make a real difference to our team members, our suppliers, our customers and to the communities in which we live and work.

Website: coles.com.au/about-coles/sustainability

These two focus areas apply directly to Coles and its stakeholders, highlighting where Coles feels it can make the most difference.

While Coles has been on its sustainability journey for some time, it officially launched its Sustainability Strategy in June 2021, which has been supported by a significant communications strategy, both internally and externally. The start of the Sustainability Strategy communications campaign was in March 2021, at the launch of its sustainability concept store in Moonee Ponds, Victoria – where Coles announced its energy and greenhouse gas emission targets as part of Together to Zero.

At the same time, Coles unveiled its sustainability icon. This original artwork design was created for Coles by Bundjalung/Biripi artist Nikita Ridgeway of Boss Lady Design and Communication. The icon is unique to Coles and serves as a strong point of recognition for Coles’ Sustainability Strategy and initiatives.

Coles’ Sustainability Strategy is supported by internal and external campaigns. Externally, Coles has launched its sustainability concept store in Moonee Ponds, Victoria in March 2021;

released its Sustainability Strategy in June 2021; launched its first sustainability focused marketing campaign in July 2021; and continued communication to its investors through its Investor Strategy Day and 2021 Sustainability Report.

The Sustainability Strategy has been supported by internal activation to bring Coles’ 120,000 team members along on its sustainability journey. This included its second Sustainability Week held in May 2021 and Sustainability Day in September 2021.

Coles also launched its sustainability education series for team members which is centred on the UN SDGs and aims to have external experts talk on various sustainability topics that are of interest to Coles’ team members. Sustainability, for some, is still relatively new, therefore the biggest challenge has been communicating to varying levels of knowledge in a consistent and simple manner.

Individuals consume information differently, and it was important that Coles made sure it reached out to all these stakeholders in ways in which they best received information. Each stakeholder group remains at varying levels of understanding of key elements of Coles’ Sustainability Strategy and therefore it needed to make sure it was communicating it in a manner that can be understood by them in their preferred channel.

Coles recognises it cannot do this alone, and its Sustainability Strategy will require collaboration across thousands of supplier and industry partners as working together is key to success.

Flinders Ranges and Outback Inc

The Aussie Travel Code is an educational resource in the form of a brand that supports sustainable travel. In late 2019 and early 2020, tourism to the South Australian Outback had increased rapidly.

The accompanying rise in rubbish, bio-waste, environmental damage and unsafe traveller behaviour was becoming increasingly concerning. So, when tourism slowed for a while in 2020, the Flinders Ranges and Outback Tourism Committee selected a project group of local stakeholders to pull together a grass roots campaign that would make the region’s growing tourism industry more sustainable for the years to come.

Website: aussietravelcode.com.au

They had limited resources and a tight timeline but in partnership with WOOF Media, a South Australian based marketing agency specialising in regional tourism, they created the Aussie Travel Code for the Outback. The project planning team discussions and survey data informed decisions behind the digital campaign strategy, branding and visual identity.

The Aussie Travel Code identified travellers and visitors to the Outback as the ideal audience for Stage One of Aussie Travel Code - to bring awareness to the issues and educate fellow travellers on best practice. In developing the Aussie Travel Code, it was vital that the messaging did not discourage visitors but helps them to understand how to do the right thing.

The content communicates clear advice, makes everyone feel welcome, and equips visitors

with information they need to have a safe, respectful and enjoyable journey. The project planning team felt responsible for creating an authentic Australian voice.

In doing so they noted that every region in Australia had their own specific quirks that travellers need to be aware of: from unique wildlife to limited facilities or extreme weather patterns. As whole they believe Australians are conscientious travellers who will be happy to do the right thing – as long as they know what it is.

The Aussie travel Code seeks to speak to the “movable middle” –the majority of consumers who fall across the middle of the spectrum between already doing the right thing, to willfully doing the wrong thing. The Aussie Travel Code aspires to set a better standard for developing tourism economies.

With its uniquely Australian approach the vision is to create a lasting legacy that will protect and promote unique communities and environments across the country.

Aussie Travel Code unique traits can be headlined by: Truly Aussie Character

• Creativity with cut-through, PR appeal and share-ability

• The tone is funny, helpful and true to region

• Assumes that travellers have good intentions An Everybody Wins Approach

• Natural environments are enjoyed without being depleted

• Travellers are equipped to have a safe enjoyable trip

• Locals enjoy the benefits of positive, sustainable tourism Adaptable Across Australia

• Aussie travel Code subbrands can be created for other regions

They will gladly share our process so that other destinations can adapt to their region’s issues The Aussie Code commands respect between the people and the environment while extending a welcoming, positive handshake.

Invasive Species Council

Kosciuszko - it’s a park, not a paddock; Reclaim Kosci drives the protection of Kosciuszko National park from feral horses.

Website: reclaimkosci.org.au

In 2018 the Reclaim Kosci campaign was kickstarted to tackle one of the toughest and most divisive conservation issues in Australia: the management of wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park.

Feral horses evoke different emotions in the Australian community – some recognise the damage they cause as an introduced animal, while 1 in 5 Australians mistake horses as native.

Australia’s ecosystems have evolved over millions of years without the presence of hard hooves. Now, habitat degradation and loss by feral horses is a key threatening process driving native species closer to extinction. In Kosciuszko alone, scientists advise that feral horses adversely affect at least 34 threatened plants and animal species and 4 ecological communities.

Reclaim Kosci has supported a broad chorus of community voices calling for

• Over 70 scientists signed an open letter to the NSW Environment Minister.

• More than 600 walkers helped five bushwalkers completed their 560km protest trek from Sydney to Mt Kosciuszko.

• Indigenous people from four major western catchments held a historic Narjong Water Healing ceremony in the headwaters of the Murrumbidgee River.

• Over 15,000 NSW residents signed a petition delivered to parliament urging the NSW Government to act to protect Kosciuszko. Our calls for sciencebased feral horse control have been heard and taken up by powerful voices from across the political divide.

action on feral horses:

• Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett joined our cause, urging all Australians to join our campaign to protect Kosciuszko from ongoing horse destruction.

• Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley joined us on a field inspection of Kosciuszko and was so shocked by the horse damage that she immediately called on her NSW counterparts to put an end to the environmental destruction being caused by escalating horse populations. We left no stone unturned as we built the case for feral horse management in Kosciuszko National Park.

• Commissioned an independent economic report by Frontier Economics that puts the damage bill of failed horse control in Kosciuszko at $50 million a year.

Despite this knowledge, after decades of mismanagement, feral horse control came to a standstill in Kosciuszko in 2018 when the NSW Government enacted the controversial ‘Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act’ - a law that prioritises an invasive species over natural biodiversity and was roundly condemned by the IUCN, RSPCA, Australian Academy of Sciences and the environmental community.

In response, the Reclaim Kosci campaign was launched to bring into sharp focus the damaging effects of uncontrolled horse numbers in Kosciuszko National Park and get management back on the table. Through community-led engagement, strategic traditional and social media campaigns and creative advocacy, Reclaim Kosci has forced the NSW Government to act.

• Engaged Essential Media to undertake social media research and deploy a strategic social media campaign which grew reclaim Kosci’s supporter base to 10,000 people.

• Hosted the online premiere to 360 ticketholders of a new ground-breaking documentary ‘Where the Water Starts’ that puts Indigenous voices at the forefront of the fight to protect Kosciuszko.

• Encourages thousands of submissions supporting a strong feral horse management plan.

In December 2021 as a result of the Reclaim Kosci campaign, the NSW Government adopted a new Kosciuszko horse management plan to remove large numbers of feral horses from Kosciuszko. The plan has significant implications for the protection of Kosciuszko’s fragile wetlands and threatened species.

The Blue Tribe Company

Using The Power Of Reality TV For Good

What do you get when you mix in some reality TV celebrities, the latest in behavioural science insights, and a mission to transform the sustainability performance of the entire housing industry?

You get the new lifestyle TV show, Renovate or Rebuild, that aims to crack open sustainable building options to a broad audience.

It combines reality-TV with behavioural science by encouraging Australian homeowners to choose healthier and more energy efficient homes.

Website: t

Renovate or Rebuild is a 60-minute lifestyle show where two teams compete to convince a family that they have the best solution to providing more space, comfort and reduced energy bills. Team Renovate believe the family should renovate their existing home, while Team Rebuild think the family should knock down and rebuild.

In each episode you are taken on a journey through the design process as the teams juggle the challenges of meeting the clients brief and budget whilst aiming to create an amazing design for a home that is stylish, healthy, comfortable but also an energy efficient home. Along the way they visit amazing homes to get some inspiration before pitching their design to the family.

The two solutions are judged by an expert panel on style, sustainability, and cost but ultimately the decision will come down to the family - will they renovate or rebuild? The show features an all star cast of former contestants from Channel 9’s ‘The Block’ (Australia’s most popular reality TV show) and has all the hallmarks of compelling reality TV: it’s fun, with big, bold characters and a healthy dose of competition.

What makes it different is its objective, to help homeowners to create more energy efficient, healthy and comfortable homes.

According to the creator and Executive Producer of the show

James McGregor, “if the Melbourne comedy festival and your favourite architectural design show had a baby with your all-time favourite contestants from 'The Block', it would look like Renovate or Rebuild!”

“The show is designed to teach you about important features of an energy efficient home, give you some amazing home design ideas and leave you with a big smile on your face at the end of every episode” James explains.

The show takes an educational entertainment approach to teach viewers about important concepts like passive solar design, insulation, energy efficiency and solar energy systems.

“We want people to get excited about things like insulation and high home energy ratings the same way they would get excited about a new kitchen benchtop”.

Renovate or Rebuild builds-on research undertaken in the CRC for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL) in partnership with the NSW Government and the CSIRO.

“Key findings from the CRCLCL’s social research show that sustainability needs to be communicated in a mainstream way for it to be effective. Our goal with this TV show is to demystify the process of building or renovating an energy efficient home by communicating it in an engaging and entertaining format,”

James McGregor said.

Season 1 of Renovate or Rebuild has just finished airing on Channel 9Life and is available on demand from 9 Now. Season 2 will commence filming in early 2022.

Yarra Valley Water

Yarra Valley Water Inspires Children To Save Water

Yarra Valley Water’s (YVW) key goal in the ‘Water Watchers‘ campaign was to create an educational campaign to teach younger generations of the importance and benefits of fostering water conservation habits –and encouraging their family to do the same.

This was primarily achieved by increasing customer awareness of their water usage by offering free biodegradable Water Watchers devices to place on their taps at home and act as a visual reminder that water is a precious resource that needs to be saved.

Website: yvw.com.au/water-watchers

The engaging and visually memorable rubbery ‘ring’ shaped series of characters can be affixed to most household indoor and outdoor taps, acting as a friendly reminder to turn taps off when not in active use. The design is intended to be a fun and unobtrusive way of delivering an important message for all family members.

In order to build a world around this initiative and create incentive and interest for kids, supplementary materials - including an animatic, a jingle and activity sheets were produced.

Also integrated into this campaign is a free, fully interactive, in-person education program available to primary schools in the YVW service area. This program features YVW water education specialists who utilise engaging, fun and interactive teaching and learning methods to communicate key learnings to students across the primary school age range. The methodology used in this program links directly to the Victorian Curriculum and integrates with Yarra Valley Water’s water-saving messages and tools.

This 360º approach to making water conservation fun, educational and memorable allows children to act as

family ambassadors for water-saving; a very powerful tool in motivating kids and parents alike to do the right thing.

One teacher from Mernda Park Primary School ranked the educational incursion program 10/10 across all four review criteria and commented that: “Students were really engaged when they could physically see how much water was used/wasted.”

Overall, more than 11,000 Water Watcher figurines were distributed. The campaign garnered ten key pieces of media coverage across print and online spaces, including a significant photo opportunity piece

In an October 2021 survey with 1,014 respondents, 92% of people had placed Water Watchers on their taps.

in The Herald Sun. The total impact of campaign media traction was an estimated reach of 1,511,498 people across general interest media and family-oriented publications. The legacy of our campaign so far has been overwhelmingly positive, based on customer feedback.

The legacy of this campaign shortterm is that our consumers intend to focus significantly more on reducing water usage, a hugely positive impact that YVW intends to magnify in future. Long-term, this campaign represents a significant contribution towards securing the future of Melbourne’s water supply by facilitating intergenerational behavioural change.

In the same study:

85% of respondent claim to have reduced the length of time in the shower.

75% have reduced time using sink taps

46% have reduced the number of times they use their washing machine.

99 Diversity Award

ANZ And Brotherhood Of St Laurence Partner To Provide Meaningful Employment Opportunities To Refugee And Asylum Seekers.

Virginia migrated to Australia with her husband and two children to escape the ravages of the civil war in Sierra Leone. However, she struggled to find meaningful work - that is until the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) introduced her to the Given the Chance program and since then she’s never looked back.

Website: anz.com.au/about-us/esg/

Throughout my career in Africa, I worked as a personal assistant across a few different companies. My main responsibility was to carry out secretarial duties. This was the type of job I was looking for when I first arrived in Australia, but I was told it would be impossible to get similar work because I didn’t have any experience in the field.

While I continued to look for a job I decided to enrol at La Trobe University and do my Masters of Business Administration. I thought maybe having an Australian education might help me find a role that suited both my experience and prior qualifications –but unfortunately it did not.

I heard about the Given the Chance program through our local community and I ended up volunteering as a receptionist at the office of the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL). After working there for a while, the people at BSL encouraged me to enrol in the Given the Chance program – they had observed my

work and believed I had the capability to secure a place in the program and find a suitable job. It was through this I was fortunate to get a job at ANZ. Working as a personal assistant in Africa gave me a lot of experience working in the corporate world but I had never worked in a role where I spoke to customers over the phone. Selling products and managing customer relationships and accounts was completely new to me. I faced many challenges when I started working at ANZ in a customer service role. I battled with the difference in culture; I found people’s accents hard to understand and I initially struggled with the systems and processes.

It took time, but as I faced each of these challenges head on, I was able to overcome them. I have now developed internal strength and skills that have helped me not only in that particular role but will also in future roles. I started at ANZ as a sales consultant in 2008. The main responsibilities included card activations, balance transfers as well as other things.

I was there for two years before moving over to commercial banking and I’ve held various roles as a Merchant Sales Consultant, Small Business Specialist and now Small Business Manager.

If I were to give a piece of advice to anyone who might be in a similar position to what I was - or to anyone interested in enrolling in the Given the Chance programit would be this:

be forthright about what you want, work hard and take any difficulty as a challenge to overcome. This is how I approached it and here I am now.

L’Oreal Australia

L’Oréal Australia Driving Equal Access, Opportunities And Rewards

In 2014, L’Oréal Australia’s HR Director posed the question“Where are all of our talented females going?”.

This galvanised a strategy to support women approaching a time when they may start a family and ultimately ensuring L’Oréal Australia provides equal access, opportunities and rewards regardless of gender. The company's CEO, Rodrigo Pizarro, has led this strategy and is a visible champion for gender equality.

Website: loreal.com/australia

Over the past five years, L’Oréal Australia’s gender equality strategy has revolved around four pillars –flexibility, pay equity, equal parental leave and career pathways. As a result of initiatives that have implemented, the company has seen significant changes in feedback from employees and are one of only three organisations in Australia to be awarded both EDGE and WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality certifications.

Key results for L’Oréal Australia include the announcement of a majority female Management Committee in 2016. With the implementation of Flexible Work Arrangements and a formalised Talent Pipeline Process, the business saw a major change in career pathways for women. Once again in 2021, L’Oréal Australia has a majority female Management Committee.

In 2018, L’Oréal Australia implemented 14 weeks equal parental leave (for all parents).

Since that time they have seen a year on year increase in male employees taking this leave. To encourage its take up, they focussed on telling the stories of males taking and embracing parental leave.

In 2021, one of L’Oréal Australia’s employees Alex Bachem, was featured on the ABC in the lead up to the Federal Budget, highlighting the importance of companies offering equal parental leave.

People look to corporations to act in a way that leaves a positive mark on the communities they operate in and this sense of responsibility drives decision making at L’Oréal Australia. The company has come a long way in the past five years they strive to continue to deliver great outcomes for their employees and to be recognised externally for the standard they set in gender equality.

They have a strong belief this will be done by setting a frame of their key commitments but being flexible within that frame to respond to the topics of the day and what their employees tell them they need.

L’Oréal’s purpose is to “create the beauty that moves the world” and as the world’s largest beauty company they understand that everything they do can have a meaningful impact.

Lion Pty Limited

At Lion we continue to drive an environment where we welcome difference and stand for fairness.

This means that we strive to build a culture where everyone feels that they belong and can thrive. We know that diversity is not simply about ‘doing the right thing’ – it is critical to the longterm success of our business.

Website: lionco.com/au

To deliver the best products, services and experiences for our customers and consumers we need our internal workforce to reflect the demographics of the markets we operate in.

As we continue to raise the bar for talent, we are focused on creating more diverse teams and inclusive culture knowing there is an innovation and financial penalty for not making I&D a priority.

We had made progress in the past but in 2021 we wanted to do more and accelerate our focus on diversity where it matters most, at a team level instead of at an organisational level. We also wanted to increase the sense of inclusion that minority groups were experiencing at Lion and ensure we had the best in market policy offerings.

To that end, on International Women’s Day 2021, we went one step further in our commitment and announced new Team Gender Targets across the organisation. These targets aim for a minimum 40% representation of both men and women in all teams of 5 or more, organisation wide, by 2030. We also developed and rolled out the Respect at Lion Initiative to increase the sense of respect and inclusion across the organisation.

This initiative included 67 interactive learning sessions that all employees world wide attended, Upstander training, launch of the Respect at Lion Champions Network and the launch of a Respect at Lion Reporting mechanism.

Finally, we overhauled our People Policies to ensure that we were offering what our team members needed, when they needed it. This included expanded parental leave and domestic and family abuse support.

These achievements align directly with two SDGs:

SDG 5) Achieve gender equality and empower women and girls and

SDG 10) Reduce inequality within and among countries.

Ethical Sourcing Award

Bluem Self Love Club

Bluem Uses Skincare As A Vessel To Combat Climate Change.

Bluem was founded to set a new benchmark for sustainability and self care. Unlike a traditional approach which leaves sustainability as an afterthought, Bluem started with the question:

“How can we heal the earth, while healing ourselves?”.

Website: bluem.com.au

Though it is not even a year old, the skincare brand has already donated thousands of dollars to various charities supporting intersectional pillars of sustainability; become the first climate positive beauty brand, raised awareness for activist causes and is in final stages of their Bcorp Certification.

Female founded, family owned, vegan, natural, science backed, Australian made and prioritising supporting indigenous communities, Bluem is a pioneer for showing how it is not only possible, but ESSENTIAL to follow a profit for purpose business model.

Bluem was founded by mother and environmental engineer, Montana Lower.

Before starting her own business, she had led a colourful career in greening urban spaces as an environmental engineer, exposing & improving the realities of manufacturing in developing nations, representing Australia at the united nations headquarters for the largest animal rights campaign in history, exploring the reality and impact of international fair trade agreements and being a global brand ambassador for innovative brands setting the benchmark for sustainability.

At the time of starting Bluem, Montana had just fallen pregnant and was becoming increasingly alarmed

with the seemingly ‘natural’ beauty products she was using that were not recommended to use while pregnant. Committed to the value that if it wasn’t good enough for her baby, it wasn’t good enough for her - she began to search for a product that effectively cared for her skin, while also being more natural.

What she quickly learned was that while there was many natural products, they didn’t have the scientific backing and furthermore, nothing on the market had transparency or impactful giveback programs. Montana never set out on a mission to start a skincare label, she just wanted to create something for herself, give back to our planet and make it easier for others to do that too. Montana had always believed and had been scientifically resounded, that nature has the answers we are looking for, we just need to quieten our busy lives enough to listen.

In this, her unconventional approach to finding a skincare led her down a research path of biomimicry (the practice of looking to nature for inspiration to solve design problems in a regenerative way). This led to the utilisation of the innovative process of CELLULAR EXTRACTION, a unique method that extracts the essence of a plant in extremely high potency as close as possible to how they would exist in nature.

And while this process increased the overall integrity of the product creating a transformational skincare solution, it also created transparency with suppliers, ability to work with wild harvested plants and rural indigenous communities, increase the efficiency usage of plant material, reducing bio-waste, creating the solutions based on rainwater and above all, returning majority of the profits to nature for the deep healing required to get our planet back on track.

All while inspiring women all over the world to connect to themselves and nature, rewiring social constructs of the modern beauty industry to prove that when it comes to skincare, less is more and that it's truly whats on the inside that counts.

Zenna Latez Mattress

A Natural And Sustainable Alternative For A Night’s Sleep

Most see the area of ethical sourcing as the domain of large corporations and SMEs simply their minions. We are here to demonstrate that an SME can make a difference, source major manufacturers, and contribute to the SDGs.

Many mattresses are not sustainable, from the source material used, to how they are disposed at the end of life. Cheap mattresses, just like cheap clothes, do not last and clutter landfill. In addition, what is good for the environment is good for your health. Zenna, a specialist online retailer providing latex mattresses, is a SME with a big vision.

Website: zennalatexmattress.com.au/

We want to change the mattress market and make it sustainable while creating a product that we can be proud of and will serve our customers well.

To offer each Zenna client luxurious natural comfort, we opted for 100% natural cotton padding and a 100% cotton backing to end up with a ground-breaking 100% natural mattress cover.

The Zenna Team put the different pieces of the puzzle together by searching for the right products made by the right suppliers. For the core material, latex ticked all the boxes.

Natural latex, the juice of the tropical rubber tree (Hevea Brasiliensis) is a natural raw material. All rubber trees worldwide neutralize over 90 million tons of CO2 per year.

DILEMMA - No latex is manufactured in Australia. With our extensive industry experience, the Zenna mattress has been designed to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns as per SDG 13. In addition, the focus on providing a healthy good night sleep closely aligns with SDG 3. However, there were many different latex producers, located all over the world (except Australia), and making all kinds of rubber, from 100% synthetic latex to 100% natural latex.

After a lot of research and several sample rounds, we ended up in Belgium. Based on our desired product specifications, the Belgians created a product that:

• was made of 100% natural rubber (and since November even FSC certified),

• was made in Australian sizes without the use of glue,

• was made in 1 block (and not in several layers),

• could be rollpacked.

For the fabric, we stayed in Belgium as well and found a boutique high quality fabric producer who developed a 100% natural fabric especially for Zenna, using ONLY natural yarns (bamboo and organic cotton).

The combination of all this in one product is truly revolutionary. Our one block 18cm allnatural latex mattress is a market disruptor. No other company in Australia sells this unique product.

We are the first to introduce the rollpack mattress packaging, which saves transport costs and footprint.

Procurement leaders who take bold action can make a decisive difference in sustainability and contribute to the SDGs. Sourcing a manufacturer that makes a product with such strong environmental credentials is at the core of SDG 13. Each step reinforces our role in sustainable consumption and production patterns. As sales continue to grow our impact will be greater.

113 Future Cities Award

ACT Government

ACT Government Provides Zero Interest Loans For Households To Install Sustainable Products

The ACT Government's Sustainable Household Scheme provides zerointerest loans between $2,000 and $15,000 to eligible households to assist with upfront costs of investing in energy efficient products. The Scheme aims to assist households reduce energy use and costs, while improving comfort.

The Scheme is the first in Australia to offer a full suite of sustainable products. Over five years (2021-2026), the $150 million scheme will see over 10,000 ACT homes benefit from rooftop solar, household battery storage, hot water heat pumps, electric stove tops, electric heating and cooling, electric vehicle chargers, and new and used electric vehicles.

Website: climatechoices.act.gov.au/home

WINNER 2022

The Scheme is inspiring innovation, with manufacturers and business encouraged to present new products and technology for potential inclusion. The Scheme has a strong focus on Consumer Education and Support, providing households with product and home energy efficiency advice, as well as referral pathways for vulnerable households.

Since the pilot launch in July 2021, there have been over 2,300 loan applications, injecting $25 million into the ACT and regions economy and over 6 Mega Watts of solar installed.

From early 2022, the Scheme will be expanded to include Community Organisations. The Scheme is breaking down the cost barriers for households to purchase the type of energy-efficient products many always knew they wanted but put off due to cost and lack of understanding about the process to install.

The Scheme achieves this by providing the zero-interest loan of $15,000 with a payback period of up to 10 years and designing the Scheme so it is vendor led. After making the initial choice of product and supplier, a customer’s chosen

supplier will initiate the loans process on the customers behalf. The customer is hands off until the loans provider, Brighte Capital, contact them to start the loan application.

Scheme participants can also take comfort in the fact that all suppliers and installers accredited under the Scheme need to be Clean Energy Council accredited, and an Approved Solar Retailer for solar and battery products. Suppliers also go through an onboarding process with Brighte to ensure they meet required eligibility criteria.

So far, 130 suppliers and installers participate under the Scheme, from both ACT and region and interstate. This has allowed significant choice for customers, with the option to shop around.

The ACT is the only jurisdiction in Australia that requires an electrical inspection of an installed product, meaning customers have the added assurance that their product will be inspected by a qualified and experienced inspector from the ACT Government regulation unit. As part of the Scheme budget, two additional inspectors were hired to help with the anticipated increase in inspections.

To support the Consumer Education Support element, households are required to participate in a free online Actsmart Home Energy Advice workshop. These workshops have proven to help householders make energy efficiency choices and select products most suited to their household and lifestyle needs. Participants can also call Actsmart’s free home energy advice line for help with a range of home energy questions and issues or to book in a free in-home energy assessment.

The Consumer Education Support element provides as a referral pathway between Brighte Capital and the ACT Government of any participants who have had a loan declined or experiencing hardship. The ACT Government and community services offer a number of programs and supports for vulnerable households including a subsidy program for solar to commence as part of the Scheme in early 2022.

City of Melbourne

Melbourne becomes first city in Australia to make a Voluntary Local Review Declaration to report progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The City of Melbourne is proud to be the first Australian capital city government to make a Voluntary Local Review Declaration – a pledge to do their bit and report progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The City has embedded the goals into the Council Plan and will release their first Voluntary Local Review Report next year. By tracking Melbourne’s progress, the City can compare with other cities – share strengths and learn how to address challenges. Many of the challenges we face as cities are universal.

Website: melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-council/vision-goals/pages/united-nations-sustainable-development-goals.aspx

By sharing solutions and expertise the City of Melbourne aims to drive a more inclusive, more sustainable, and more resilient global future.

Below are two case studies on progress the City of Melbourne is making towards the goals.

Goal 7 - Melbourne Renewable

Energy Project Cities can drive change by demonstrating new and innovative approaches to decarbonising the grid in their own operations via our procurement practices and by enabling citizens to act. The City has delivered two energy purchasing agreements, reducing the equivalent of five per cent of the city’s emissions – leading Melbourne to be the first capital city council in Australia powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.

In 2017 – in an Australian-first –City of Melbourne partnered with a group of local governments, cultural institutions, universities and corporations to collectively purchase renewable energy from a new 39-turbine, 80 MW windfarm. In 2020, they facilitated a second power purchase agreement for businesses across the city, including seven large energy users. The project catalysed more renewable energy investment by large energy users, including the Victorian Government.

Since 2017, corporate power purchase agreements have continued to grow as a solution for Australia’s largest energy users with approximately 8000 MW of renewable energy capacity being enabled to date.

Goal 11 - Make Room

In June 2020, the City established a list of people experiencing homelessness, by name, to enable appropriate outreach and service coordination, and plan the homelessness emergency response to COVID-19.

It provides quality real time data to co-ordinate housing and support based on individual needs. Their vision is that no person will need to sleep rough in the municipality. The City aims to deliver them permanent housing and tailored support.

Their longer-term goals include:

Reduce rough sleeping homelessness by 50 per cent by July 2025. Functional Zero rough sleeping homelessness by and sustained from July 2030. There is a shortage of tailored housing to support vulnerable people to sustain their tenancies. In response, the City is increasing the supply of safe and supported accommodation through the Make Room project.

They will convert a vacant City of Melbourne-owned building at 602 Little Bourke Street to provide up to 12 months of specialist accommodation for 50 residents. Residents will receive ongoing individual case management to break the cycle of rough sleeping and homelessness and help them get their lives back on track.

Finding Infinity

A New Normal - Transforming Greater Melbourne From A Consumer To A Producer By 2030.

A New Normal is a project that aims to transform Greater Melbourne from a consumer to a producer by 2030.

Integrating the physical infrastructure that makes the city work, with the cultural infrastructure that enables us all to thrive.

This proposal for Greater Melbourne has the potential to:

• Provide economic recovery

• Secure our energy supply, water supply & movement network

• Create over 80,000 jobs

• Create a sustainable revenue in 7 years

• Position Melbourne as a world leader in economic and environmental transition Website:

A New Normal started in 2018 as a report and 2 years worth of research.

In 2019 it expanded to include 15 architects and 15 projects to help visualise the transformation. Launching at Melbourne Design Week in 2021 as a rooftop exhibition showcasing the transformation, A New Normal is rapidly progressing to realise the goal of making Melbourne the world’s first self-sufficient city.

According to the United Nations, global carbon emissions must halve by 2030. But national governments, including Australia’s, are struggling to respond in time. It is now clear that the transition will not be led by nations. It will be led by cities.

A city like Melbourne — already one of the wealthiest and most liveable in the world — is perfectly placed to lead the transition. The self-sufficient city will transform our energy system to run on resources that never run out. The city will treat and reuse all its water, creating an endless loop. We will end the concept of landfill. Rather than hiding it away, we allow people to be emotionally connected to our infrastructure by co-creating a series of prototypical location-based experiences.

A New Normal is designed to familiarise the public with the transformation while informing politicians with public support and enabling businesses to provide the solutions. Rather than a standalone

The question was asked:

If Melbourne implemented every single profitable initiative over the next decade, targeting the environmental and financial threshold, how far could we get?

The answer; we can transform Melbourne to operate on resources that will never run out — and profit from the transition. It is possible.

top-down strategy to transform the city, the goal of A New Normal is to co-create the future self-sufficient reality and the future urban narrative of our cities. This is the first strategy that cohesively looks at transforming the city - each initiative is currently happening in various cities around the world. But all of them combined in one location, that’s new.

The objective is to turn this goal into reality. Since the launching in late 2020, with the public opening in early 2021, A New Normal is focused on procuring sites and funds for the first fifteen pilot projects (a $50m investment overall). So far there are six projects already funded.

In 2022 and 2023 we will continue pushing to build all 15 pilot projects, and replicate at a larger scale, using these first projects as case studies for the transition with the goal of achieving a $100b investment by 2030, resulting in over 80,000 jobs.

Health & Wellbeing Award

HERO Condoms

HERO Step Up Support For Essential Healthcare Services And Sustainable Development In Australia, Through Innovate One-For-One model.

HERO was started in 2014 to respond to the HIV/AIDs pandemic in Botswana, where almost 20% of the population live with HIV.

Despite the dedicated work of local organisations, significant issues with condom supply, and barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services persist, resulting in gaps to critical components of health equality and human rights.

So, in the spirit of SDGs 3 (Health) and 17 (Strong Global Partnerships), we developed an innovative one for one condom donation and partnership model to empower the change-makers and grassroots organisations committed to health outcomes, SRHR and reducing inequality, with over 2.2 million condoms donated in Botswana to date.

Website: herocondoms.com

The most significant lesson we learnt while building these partnerships has been the complex, enduring nature of the challenges facing the global development community, as we work towards the SDGs.

Despite the tireless work of the global community, COVID19 has exacerbated existing inequality, and progress towards development indicators is slowing, if not regressing. Lack of access to safe and effective interventions for SRHR remains a major barrier to achieving true health equality, with downstream ramifications for gender equality, LGBTQI+ rights, inequality and economic empowerment and sustainable development.

When COVID19 began straining Australia’s health system, we were compelled to step up to support the incredible frontline SRHR organisations who drive the health development agenda here, and the people who need them.

Through new partnerships including with Marie Stopes Australia and 1800 MyOptions, we have donated over 125,000 condoms in Australia to date.

We achieve this through four key pillars:

Health: committing to the pursuit of health equality, promoting SRHR and the right to equitable, accessible and free healthcare for all (SDG3.7), particularly responding to the AIDS epidemic and health crises (SDG3.3);

Empowerment: empowering the people and organisations leading sustainable development through national and international partnerships which strengthen health solutions and systems through genuine partnerships (SDG17);

Responsibility: our responsibility to ensure our operations foster sustainable development through improving health equality and multisectoral cooperation, with minimal environmental impact;

One for One: delivering tangible support to frontline organisations tackling health crises to foster sustainable development by providing free, critical sexual and reproductive health products like condoms. This is a key component of universal health coverage and access to quality essential health-care services and safe, effective, quality and affordable medical supplies for all (SDG3.8).

Providing donated condoms allows our partners to free up financial resources and focus on essential healthcare service provision, critical to reducing health inequality.

HERO operates from a rights-based perspective which means we centre our activities around supporting human rights to universal access to health services and full, inclusive sex education, and believe that health equality is a key lever for reducing inequality and attaining sustainable development.

At the core of our operations is our fervent belief that the pursuit of sustainable development through improved health equality must be locally led and context appropriate, not donor driven, and that development does not operate in isolation from experiences of inequality, so must incorporate intersectionality.

John Holland PTY LTD

Tackling Mental Health And Suicide Risk In Australian Construction: John Holland’s Industry-Transforming Wellbeing Framework

An innovative wellbeing framework developed by Tier 1 contractor, John Holland, is helping to break down the barriers around mental illness in Australia’s construction industry.

The John Holland Wellbeing Framework was launched in 2018 as a company-wide response to the Australian construction industry’s over-representation in mental illness and suicide statistics.

The Framework has four, interconnected areas of focus – healthy minds, healthy bodies, healthy relationships, and healthy workplaces –and is supported by an Internal Standard, policies, management processes and external partnerships.

Website: johnholland.com.au/

Since October last year, John Holland has embedded its approach to Wellbeing through their Global Mandatory Requirements (GMRs) and Management system, and allows for Wellbeing to be implemented on projects, with the framework’s management process being completely adaptable and scalable to project-specific requirements and work environments.

A recent survey of leaders across 18 different worksites found that Flexible Work Arrangements had vastly improved since the roll-out of the Framework – scoring a 4.15 out of 5 for availability and support of flex on-site. The Framework has also driven awareness and utilisation of the company’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides professional psychological counselling. The annualised EAP Utilisation Rate has grown over two years from 3.71 to 5.68 percent. John Holland has also created and extended external partnerships to promote and support mental wellbeing, including sponsorship of the Move Your Mind podcast series by Nick Bracks.

Importantly, the Framework recognises the importance of a ‘top-down’ commitment to wellbeing, with managers playing an active role in changing the ‘culture of silence’ that’s long existed in the industry. Since the Framework’s launch, 64 percent of John Holland managers have now undertaken the Black Dog Institute’s Managing for Team Wellbeing sessions, with the company on target to reach 90 percent completion by the end of 2022.

More significantly, 97.1 percent of participants have said they would implement ideas they gained from the training. Across the business, 63 percent of employees have completed a mental health eLearning module, and over 250 employees from all levels have completed Mental Health First Aider training to act as ‘first responders’ in the workplace. As a result, John Holland has achieved Gold Level Mental Health First Aid Australia (MHFA) Skilled Workplace Accreditation.

As part of its wellbeing response, John Holland has also launched a new flexible working policy that aims to support its employees in achieving a better work-life balance, as well as an improved parental leave policy so parents can have more time bonding with their new child without sacrificing their career or super. All requests for flexible work must be considered reasonably by managers, as outlined in the Black Dog training and Wellbeing Procedure.

In 2021, COVID shone a light on the importance of understanding mental health issues like never before. Community lockdowns and subsequent industry shutdowns in 2020 made the implementation of the Framework even more pressing, particularly as face-to-face mental health training ceased and people became impacted by the strains of lockdown.

During this time, John Holland worked closely with Black Dog and MHFA to provide online learning options and provide information and resources for COVID-related wellbeingissues, such as coping with home-schooling, increased anxiety, and staying connected.

Primary & Community Care Services Ltd

Social

Prescribing For Health And Wellbeing

People with a mental illness in Australia today are at a significant disadvantage. The additional barriers to participation, contribution, and belonging that society impose on this cohort are a further restraint on the quality of life and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities.

Website: pccs.org.au

That is why Primary & Community Care Services actively codesigns its services with the people who use them, aiming to empower each person to visualise and reach their goals using a strengthsbased social prescription approach to increase skills, wellbeing, resilience, and connection.

Traditional service models working with people living with mental illness have often looked predominantly at meeting fundamental needs as a key strategy, often focusing on Maslow’s physiological and safety needs to the exclusion of higher needs. Our theory of change posits that to fully support vulnerable individuals we need to work bidirectionally, addressing practical needs, while flipping Maslow’s hierarchy and starting with a conversation about the persons hopes and dreams, to engender a sense of control of their own narrative.

As the first organisation to establish Social Prescribing in Australia PCCS were aware of the huge potential for the approach to improve wellbeing but soon realised that without a program component focused on personal vision; buy in, choice, control, and a quality life would be hard to achieve. In addition, it was obvious from our research that community attitudes to mental health and stigma needed to be tackled. Six years on from establishment, PCCS has led the mission to deliver on positive and practical community wide health and wellbeing programs across Australia.

By scouring the globe for innovative evidence-based approaches to improving health and wellbeing, establishing, and adapting them within an Australian context, and testing them rigorously with the people who use them, we have a sound framework on which to build.

PCCS has pioneered this approach by designing programs for and with people living with a complex mental illness in the community. We have grown the service across NSW, piloting first with an injured worker cohort and expanding across several

Primary Health Networks, the NDIS and promoting social prescription with GP’s, social workers, and clinicians.

Our rapid expansion into Queensland has seen PCCS apply Skillness, Social Prescription and WellTogether on the Gold Coast with great success. Taken as a suite of offerings we and our clients view the program as an exemplar of practical, co-designed, individual, and community health and wellbeing innovation that lives and breathes the goal of healthy lives and promotion of wellbeing for all.

By including people living with a mental illness in the design of all new services, we have provided a space for the voice of community to express how they want to be supported to achieve better health and wellbeing.

Ignite Award 129

Pleasant State

Pleasant State is working towards a sparkling clean world that’s free of toxic cleaning chemicals and single-use plastics.

Everyday cleaning products are made of +97% water, packaged in single-use plastic, and filled with toxic chemicals that are known carcinogens, allergens, and sensitisers.

Website: pleasantstate.com/

To address this issue, Pleasant State developed Australia’s first justadd-water cleaning bars that when dissolved make a multi-purpose, bathroom and glass cleaner.

Think Berocca but for cleaning! You simply fill a 500ml bottle with warm water, drop the concentrated cleaning bar, wait for it to dissolve and then get cleaning! Developed and manufactured in Australia, tried and tested against the best household brands.

Pleasant State’s cleaning bars are super effective, no nasties and no B.S. Pleasant State’s solution doesn’t just remove the need for pointless single-use plastic packaging, it stops the need for transporting around litres upon litres of water contributing to unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and puts an end to toxic cleaning chemicals entering our homes and waterways.

Pleasant State is a female-owned Australian start-up that’s looking to change the game by focusing on a bigger purpose, not just profit. Ami Bateman and Sian Murray (Co-Founders) have ambitions to make waves, not ripples, when it comes to social and environmental impacts, and their cleaning range is just the first step.

For every product sold, Pleasant State donates 2% of sales to its charity partner, Take 3 For The Sea. By cleaning your house with Pleasant State, you’re helping clean up our oceans and planet.

Since shipping its products to its first 1500 customers after a successful crowdfunding raise, Pleasant State has:

• Helped over 11,000 Australian and NZ homes switch to healthier products.

• Stopped over 35,000 plastic bottles from being made and ending up in landfill.

• Donated over $7,000 to Take 3 for the Sea.

In 2022, Pleasant State’s core focus centres on impact and amplifying this through its community.

Pleasant State will focus on the role an individual person can play in making a significant impact through small changes, and supporting their friends to do the same.

Just one, one person, one switch, one share... to make a world of impact!

To support this concept, they’re launching a ‘referral reimagined’ program in January. The two novel aspects of our referral program are: Give $10 to a friend and they donate $10 to Take 3 for the Sea.

This is different to the usual approach where both the referrer and referee receive a financial benefit

They’re tracking and visualising impact from in real time so that customers can see the impact they and their community are having in terms of plastic saved, toxin-free cleaning, and donations to charity. Pleasant State also plans to introduce at least two new just-add-water cleaning solutions in 2022, and with exploring international markets.

All with the intention of getting its safer and healthier products into more homes and making a greater impact along the way!

Samsara Eco

Samsara has developed a world-first, unique solution to the plastics crisis that revolutionises waste management and plastics production.

Website: samsaraeco.com/

The world is consuming resource-intensive plastics at an increasing rate, recycling only a tiny portion of them not as effectively as we could be), and we are polluting our environment with the leftover waste.

When plastic does find its way into the recycling stream, only a limited amount can be converted into usable plastic again, and only for a small number of cycles before losing structural integrity. New plastic production generates a billion tonnes of carbon each year.

The Samsara recycling process ensures no carbon leakage, keeping it infinitely within the plastic economy.

With global temperatures rising, the world needs Samsara’s climate positive solution that directly addresses the plastics crisis, eliminating the greenhouse gas emissions of new plastics production and our discarded plastic waste, saving an estimated 3 tonnes of carbon per tonne of plastic recycled.

A young team of researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) have engineered enzymes to break down plastics atomically into monomers. These catalysts are the “engines” of the Samsara process that allows the plastic to be degraded in a low-energy, low-carbon manner, and recapture the chemicals used in the original production so the plastic can be remade, brand new. These super enzymes break down plastic faster and more effectively than any enzyme and convert plastic to monomers in under one hour.

To develop and commercialise this technology, Samsara partnered with the ANU and its research team, Australian supermarket giant Woolworths, and the CSIRO’s venture capital fund Main Sequence Ventures. Together with its partners, Samsara has developed and commercialised these groundbreaking discoveries so that we can infinitely recycle waste plastics.

The project applies the smarts of patented engineered enzymes and a novel process to existing commercial equipment, making it inherently scalable and cost-efficient. While it displaces fossil fuels in the production of new plastics, its monomer product

slots seamlessly into the existing plastics supply chain, creating a truly circular economy for plastics.

This project revolutionises the plastic recycling and production industries, solving for the disastrous effects that both have on our climate. It provides a clean, intelligent, technology-based solution to a growing waste and resource problem and taps into an unprecedented demand for high-quality recycled products. The process is effective for harder to recycle plastics, including coloured plastic, multi-layer plastics, and mixed plastics.

Samsara turns plastic waste into valuable and renewable resources, repairing the environment and offering a climate positive alternative to fossil-fuel based plastic production.

Two Hands

Two Hands is a digital marketplace, restoring provenance, traceability, and human connections between producers and chefs.

Website: 2hs.info/en/about

Our humanized approach to digital tools is paired with the roll-out of collaborative, direct, and ethically aligned supply chains to re-imagine global food systems. The idea was seeded from conversations with South Australian Rock Lobster fishers and leading chefs to try and understand their pain points.

Through these discussions we found fishers and farmers feel they do not receive the profit, respect, or recognition they deserve for all their sweat. Producers feel powerless as middlemen become more powerful.

This is a global issue affecting food supply chains everywhere with significant ramifications on social, environmental, and economic structures. FFood fraud is a global problem (around $40bn USD), food waste levels are between 30-50% globally, and primary food producers are increasingly finding themselves disenfranchised. On the Two Hands marketplace, chefs can select products with full visibility on who and where they come from.

In delivering this product, we use our technology ecosystem to attach quality, sustainability, and provenance data to products at point-of-harvest via tamper-evident smart-tags. The data captured is uploaded via track and trace technology and verified via blockchain throughout the journey from origin to final consumption point. The tags are scannable by the chef and consumer, providing trust and a sense of connection. Concurrently, our direct-to-producer supply chain cuts out middlemen and allows us to save between 10-40% in returnable value to fishers, farmers, and chefs.

By providing increased recognition and economic support to producers and their regions while ensuring the safety and integrity of their produce, TwoHands is working towards SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and SDG 8 (Decent work and Economic Growth).

We do this with a consciousness to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production); SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land) through partnerships with NGOs, careful sourcing, active mitigation of carbon emissions, and the development of circular packaging solutions. Two Hands is also making efforts toward SDG 9 (Industry Innovation and Infrastructure), working at the interface of the digital and physical worlds, building technology that provides humans the tools to re-connect and reduce our impact. This is a whole of system solution.

Our teams are at the grass roots with producers, to ensure they are able to tell their stories in the manner they want it seen. Food system centralisation simplified the complexity of global food and agriculture, allowing food production to rapidly scale. Yet we are beginning to recognise this as a critical lever failing ecologies and humanity.

TwoHands believes that technology which empowers, not overpowers, can start to reverse this, by clawing back the connection, trust, and ultimately sustainability lost in the pursuit to feed the planet cheaply and efficiently.

Wildlife Drones

Wildlife Drones is harnessing the power of drone technology to pioneer autonomous environmental monitoring.

Over the last three years, we have developed a cutting-edge drone-based radio tracking system, VHawk, that enables researchers, conservationists and land managers, to rapidly locate and track multiple animals in real time.

Website: wildlifedrones.net/

The system has two components:

1. A drone-mounted payload, with onboard computer, radio-receiver and Very High Frequency (VHF) directional antenna capable of uploading sensor data.

2. A base station, which receives and processes signal data from the payload, and maps tracking data in real time. The base station syncs to the cloud and enables offline, in-field data analysis including population and trend modelling, using machine learning (ML) methods. With our world-leading technology, users can collect more data, more often, and with less effort, across any terrain.

Our system is the first in the world to enable real time data collection and analysis, without the need for an internet connection, which ensures users have the insights they need where it matters most—in the field.

Our system is also the first to enable up to 40 individual animals to be tracked at once, significantly reducing tracking times compared to traditional methods.

We have partnered with clients across five countries to contribute to global efforts to protect, promote and restore terrestrial ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss—key aims of Sustainable Development Goals 14, 15, & 17.

Our radio-tracking technology has been used to monitor over 40 individual species—including some of the world’s most threatened animals like pangolins, kakapo, and swift parrots—across a wide variety of ecosystems.

Working closely with our clients has given us a valuable insight into the ways in which our technology enhances biodiversity conservation programs, by enabling better targeted and more responsive interventions, whether that be for invasive species control, or threatened species protection.

Our system is also the first to enable up to 40 individual animals to be tracked at once, significantly reducing tracking times compared to traditional methods.

Our path to developing VHawk hasn’t been straightforward, and we have had to overcome numerous challenges to bring our idea to market. These include learning to navigate the start-up world, finding the right team, technical hurdles, and overcoming barriers to adoption as we broke new ground. These challenges have reinforced the importance of passion, determination, and collaboration, which is at the heart of our development philosophy.

Over the next three years we will build on our core technology, to develop and deploy autonomous monitoring pods across terrestrial ecosystems globally. Our automated drone pods will automatically gather

data from a broader range of sensors (including camera traps as well as acoustic and other environmental monitoring sensors) to quantify and monitor the world’s diverse natural capital, and sync this information to the cloud for detailed, real-time analysis and actionable insights.

We are excited by the potential of Wildlife Drones to revolutionise wildlife monitoring, as we transition into this next phase of our journey, and are currently seeking investment to progress our technology.

Messages From The 2022 Banksia Sustainability Awards’ Sponsors

MCI have been proud event partners of The Banksia Foundation & The Banksia Awards since 2014.

The power of people united in purpose is unstoppable. MCI is a global engagement and marketing agency that creates human-centric touchpoints that unleash the power of people to deliver innovation and growth.

This holistic approach to sustainable event management can help our clients not only achieve their business and marketing goals through live & digital event & engagement strategies, whilst also helping them achieve their own sustainability goals.

Careful consideration can help reduce costs, improve environmental impacts, build stronger brand reputation and leave a powerful social legacy in the community and for future generations.

At MCI, we are committed;

• To an ethical business culture

• To sustainable working environments

• To technology as a driver of sustainability

• To the wellbeing of each individual

• To strong industry collaborations

• To giving back to our communities

• To more sustainable events for our clients

At MCI we are committed to creating a safe and accepting environment in which people can thrive. We are committed to fairness and equity in all aspects of our organization and we are proud to support the 2021 Banksia Awards, Diversity award, to celebrate those companies making a difference towards a better tomorrow for everyone.

We would love to continue the conversation and discuss how we can support your 2022 marketing and business goals through live & digital events and how we can help you achieve your company sustainability goals and possibly a Carbon Neutral Event Certification for your next event.

Sponsor of the Banksia Communication for Impact Award

Making an impact for the better starts with a conversation.

We’ve been connecting people in conversations about a better way forward for more than 30 years. We consult to people and organisations that sustain life on our planet.

We believe in the power of stories about people, planet and place to inspire positive change. That’s why we sponsor the Banksia Communications for Impact Award.

We create content that gives voice to a vision for a kinder, fairer and safer future for all. We broker collaborations that connect people with food, land and water, and, ultimately, with one another. We guide the development of innovations that solve social and environmental problems. We are a proudly-certified B Corporation – a company that uses the power of business to do good. At Currie, we see the possible.

No organisation is perfect, yet many have people who want to leave the world in better shape for future generations. We work with these people to make a positive impact.

Banksia Sustainability Awards Honour Roll

2022

Banksia Agriculture and Development Award Planet Protector Packaging, NSW

Banksia Ethical Sourcing Award ZENNA LATEX MATTRESS, NSW

Banksia Circular Transition Award Ecologiq, VIC

Banksia Future Cities Award ACT Government, ACT

Banksia Health and Wellbeing Award Primary & Community Care Services Ltd, NSW

Banksia Sustainable Toursim Award Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, QLD

Banksia Biodiversity Award Sydney Institute of Marine Science, NSW

Banksia Clean Technology Award Degnan Constructions, NSW

Banksia Communication For Impact Award The Blue Tribe Company, NSW

Banksia Diversity Award L'Oreal Australia, VIC

Banksia Net Zero Action Award Lion Pty Limited, NSW

Banksia Youth as Our Changemakers Award Sascha Rust, VIC

Banksia Large Business Transformation Award Officeworks, VIC

Banksia Small Medium Enterprise Transformation Award Enable Social Enterprises Limted, VIC

Banksia Ignite Award Samsara Eco, NSW

Banksia Gold Award

Planet Protector Packaging, NSW

Minister’s Award for the Environment Substation33, QLD

Banksia Research & Academia Award

Monash University Master of Environment and Sustainability, VIC

Banksia Community Award

Tiny Trowel, VIC

Banksia Govenrment Award

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve - BioBlitz 2019 by Sunshine Coast Council, QLD

Banksia Indigenous Award

“Littlewell” Mingenew Aboriginal Reserve Group in partnership with Thomas Cameron. Indigenous Community Volunteer, Lotterywest, Woolworth and Mingenew Shire, WA

Banksia Large Business Award

Digital Owl - Saving Our Species with Drones and Artificial Intelligence by Fujitsu Australia Limited in partnership with Saving our SpeciesNSW Government, NSW

Banksia Medium Business Award

Our People And Planet Program by Fun Over Fifty, QLD

Banksia Not For Profit & NGO Award

Building Better: Driving Sustainability

In Infrastructure by ISCA – Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, NSW

Banksia Small Business Award

How Now Dairy, VIC

Walk a Little Lighter by Spell & The Gypsy, NSW

Banksia Gold Award

ISCA – Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, NSW

2019

Minister’s Award for the Environment Substation33, QLD

Banksia Research & Academia Award

Monash University Master of Environment and Sustainability, VIC

Banksia Community Award

Tiny Trowel, VIC

Banksia Govenrment Award

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve - BioBlitz 2019 by Sunshine Coast Council, QLD

Banksia Indigenous Award

“Littlewell” Mingenew Aboriginal Reserve Group in partnership with Thomas Cameron. Indigenous Community Volunteer, Lotterywest, Woolworth and Mingenew Shire, WA

Banksia Large Business Award

Digital Owl - Saving Our Species with Drones and Artificial Intelligence by Fujitsu Australia Limited in partnership with Saving our SpeciesNSW Government, NSW

Banksia Medium Business Award

Our People And Planet Program by Fun Over Fifty, QLD

Banksia Not For Profit & NGO Award

Building Better: Driving Sustainability

In Infrastructure by ISCA – Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, NSW

Banksia Small Business Award

How Now Dairy, VIC

Walk a Little Lighter by Spell & The Gypsy, NSW

Banksia Gold Award

ISCA – Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, NSW2018

Minister’s Award for the Environment Greening Australia, QLD

Banksia Research & Academia Award

Monash Sustainable Development Institute, VIC

Banksia Community Award

The NatureMapr Network in partnership with Atlas of Life in the Coastel Wilderness, NSW

Banksia Govenrment Award

Lord Howe Island - Board Protecting Paradise, Lord Howe Island Board, NSW

Banksia Indigenous Award

Revitalising Remote West Arnhem, Warddeken Land Management LTD, NT

Banksia Individual Award

Teaspoon of Change, d’Arcy Lunn, SA

Banksia Large BusinessAward

Restoring Australia, Officeworks in partnership with Greening Australia, VIC

Bank Australia Conservation Reserve Ten Year

Strategy 'Reimagining the Future', Bank Australia in partnership with Greening Australia and Trust for Nature, VIC

Banksia Media Award

Blue the Film, in partnership with the Living Blue Guide

Banksia Medium Award

Biopak's Commitment to the Circular Economy, Biopak, NSW

Glamcorner, NSW

Banksia Not For Profit & NGO Award

Green Star by Green Building Council of Australia, Green Building Council of Australia, NSW

Banksia Small Business Award

Crystal Creek Meadow, NSW

Banksia Gold Award

Lord Howe Island - Board Protecting Paradise, Lord Howe Island Board, NSW2017

Minister’s Award for the Environment

Sundrop Farms, SA

Banksia Communication for Change Award

War on Waste by KEO Films Australia in partnership with Screen Australia, ABCTV and ScreenNSW, NSW

Banksia Food for Sustainable Thought Award Cullen Wines, WA

Banksia Indigenous Leadership for Sustainability Award

Winya Indigenous Furniture Pty Ltd, NSW

Banksia Large Business Sustainability Leadership Award AccorHotels, NSW

Banksia Leadership in the Circular Economy Award

Yarra Valley Water – Converting Waste to Energy, VIC

Banksia Natural Capital Award

Murray-Darling Basin Balanced Water Fund by The Nature Conservancy Australia in partnership with Murray-Darling Wetlands Working Group and Kilter Rural, VIC

Banksia Small to Medium Business Sustainability Leadership Award Austral Fisheries, WA

Banksia Smart Award

Sundrop Farms, SA

Banksia Sustainable Cities Award Fitzroy Gardens Redevelopment by City of Melbourne

Banksia Sustainable and Resilient Communities Award

Reaching 100% with Australia’s First Commercially Operating Community Mini Grid by Totally Renewable Yackandandah in partnership with AusNet Services, VIC

Banksia Gold Award

War on Waste by KEO Films Australia in partnership with Screen Australia, ABCTV and ScreenNSW, NSW

2016

The Environment Minister’s AwardCommunity Environmental Leadership Dr Tony Parkers, NSW

The Environment Minister’s AwardResearch & Science Feral Scan by the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, ACT

Banksia International Award Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Australia

Banksia Communication for Change Award

John West Australia: Committed to a Sustainable Seafood Future, VIC

Banksia Food for Sustainable Thought Award Natural Evolution, QLD

Banksia Indigenous Leadership for Sustainability Award AshOil, WA

Banksia Large Business Sustainability Leadership Award Kathmandu

Banksia Leadership in the Circular Economy Award TIC Group, VIC

Banksia Mindful Movement Award Sendle, NSW

Banksia Natural Capital Award

The Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor by Carbon Neutral in Partnership with Auscarbon, WA

Banksia Small to Medium Business Sustainability Leadership Award

The Farmer’s Place, VIC

Banksia Smart Award Infratech Industries, NSW

Banksia Sustainable Cities Award

The 202020 Vision

Banksia Sustainable and Resilient Communities Award

The Manymak Energy Efficiency Project Consortium, NT

Banksia International Award

Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Director, Global Change Institute and Professor of Marine Science at The University of Queensland

2015

Education for Sustainability Award

ResourceSmart Schools by Sustainability Victoria, VIC

Food for Sustainable Thought Award Australian Dairy Industry Council, VIC

Indigenous Leadership for Sustainability Award

Lirrwi Yolngu Tourism Aboriginal Corporation, NT Innovator of the Year Award

The Carnegie Wave Energy Project, WA

Large Business Sustainability Leadership Award Australia Post, VIC

Mindful Movement Award

UNSW Solar Racing Team Sunswift, NSW

Natural Capital Award

Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project by Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services, TAS

Small to Medium Business Sustainability Leadership Award

Kalleske Wines, SA

Smart Technology Award

Sustainable Flood Management Strategy by City of Gold Coast, QLD

Sustainability in Design, Build: Buildings, Landscapes and Infrastructure Award Barangaroo Reserve by Lendlease, NSW

Sustainability in Design, Build: Products Award Fieldtech Solutions, VIC

Sustainable Communities Award

Grown and Gathered, VIC

Sustainable Water Management Award

Managing the Swan River during the development of Elizabeth Quay by Leighton Broad, WA

The Environment Minister’s Award for a Cleaner Environment Allen Riseley, VIC

Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley, NSW

The Richard Pratt-Banksia CEO Award

Mark Ryan, Tassal, TAS

Banksia Gold Award

Kalleske Wines, SA

Banksia International Award

Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever

2014

Local Government Sustainability

ACT Solar Auction ACT Environment and Planning Directorate, ACT

Large Business Sustainability Leadership

The GPT Group, NSW

Innovation in Social Infrastructure > $100 Million

Making it exemplar- the North West Rail Link Transport for NSW

Leadership in Citizenship and Communities Garage Sale Trail Garage Sale Trail Foundation, NSW

Innovator of the Year

Better Buildings Partnership Better Buildings Partnership, NSW

Education for Sustainability

The Liveability Real Estate Framework- Training and Tools for the Next Generation of Real Estate

LJ Hooker Corporate, NSW

Indigenous Leadership for Sustainability

Indigenous Biocultural Knowledge (IBK) Working Group ACEAS, NSW

Environment Minister's Award for a Cleaner Environment

Millicent Mill's Commitment to a Sustainable Regional Community Kimberly-Clark Australia and New Zealand, SA

Natural Capital

Tasmanian Midlands Bush Heritage Australia, VIC In partnership with Tasmanian Land Conservancy

The Richard Pratt – Banksia CEO Award

Damien Walsh, Managing Director bankmecu, VIC

Sustainable Water Management

The Barwon Water Biosolids Management Plenary Group, VIC

Product Sustainability – through design, manufacture and use

Fostering a climate of collaboration to transform road maintenance problems into an environmentally, financially and socially sustainable solution EarthCo Projects Pty Ltd, VIC

Small to Medium Business

Sustainability Leadership

Psaros-Leading By Doing Psaros, WA

Banksia Gold Award

ACT Solar Auction ACT Environment and Planning Directorate, ACT

Banksia International Award

Sean Willmore, Founder of The Thin Green Line Foundation

2013

Innovation Award

Yun Liu The Australian National University, ACT

Leading in Sustainability - Setting the Standard for Large Organisations Award Leading in Essentials for a Better Life -Kimberly-Clark Australia and New Zealand, NSW

Leading in Sustainability - Setting the Standard for Small to Medium Businesses Award

Australian Ethical: Australia's Only Ethical Superannuation And Investment Fund Australian Ethical, NSW

Built Environment

Harmonious Manmade Landscapes Award-Global GreenTag Product Certification System Global GreenTag Pty Ltd, QLD

Indigenous Award

Caring for Country Award-Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA), QLD

Local Government Sustainability Award

Sustainability at Sunshine Coast: It's who we are, it's what we do Sunshine Coast Council, QLD

The Richard Pratt – Banksia CEO Award

Ravi Naidu, leadership for a cleaner planet Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, SA

Energy Efficiency and Carbon Management Award

Climate Wizard Seeley International, SA

wThe GPT Group Community Grant

Wadawurrung Dya Baap Ngobeeyt Cultural Heritage Mapping & Management Project

Wathaurung Aboriginal Corporation, VIC

Water - Our Most Precious Resource Award

Restoring the balance - The Hattah Lakes environmental watering program Mallee Catchment Management Authority, VIC

Agriculture and Food - From Paddock to Plate Sustainably AwardFrom Paddock to Plate to Paddock Cecconi's Cantina, VIC

Business and Not-for-ProfitsIn Collaboration Award'Magic Wand' Oiled Penguin Recovery Technology Phillip Island Nature Parks VIC

Climate Adaptation Award

City of Melbourne's Urban Landscape Adaptation Program City of Melbourne, VIC

Waste Minimisation Award

Dunlop Flooring - Waste minimization Dunlop Flooring, VIC

Land and Biodiversity - Preserving Our Ecosystems Award

Gondwana Link: 1000kms of goodwill and good work Gondwana Link Ltd, WA

Education - Raising the Bar Award Rio Tinto Naturescape Kings Park Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, WA

The Richard Pratt – Banksia CEO AwardAustralia's leading change agent Ravi Naidu, leadership for a cleaner planet Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, SA

Banksia Gold Award Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA), QLD

Banksia International Award Jochen Zeitz

2012

Education Award

Raising the Bar Target 100 - Meat & Livestock Australia, NSW

Leading in Sustainability

Setting the Standard for Small to Medium Businesses Ecoburbia - Ecoburbia, WA

Leading in Sustainability

Setting the Standard for Large Organisations Here for the Long Haul, Qantas, NSW

Water

Our Most Precious Resource Dewfish Demonstration Reach - The Fish are Back! - Condamine Alliance, QLD

Agriculture and Food From Paddock to Plate Sustainably OzHarvest - OzHarvest Ltd, NSW

Clean Technology

Harnessing Opportunities

SF6 Recycling Plant - ABB Australia Pty Limited, NSW

Indigenous Award - Caring for Country I-Tracker Initiative: Best Practice Tools and Partnerships for Indigenous Land and Sea Management - North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd, NT Built Environment - Harmonious Manmade Landscapes

Darling Quarter and Commonwealth Bank Place - Lend Lease and Commonwealth Bank, NSW

Land and Biodiversity - Preserving Our

Ecosystems

The I-Tracker Initiative: New tools and Knowledge for Better ConservationNorth Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd., NT

The GE Eco Innovation Award for Individual Excellence

Professor Veena Sahajwalla - The Eco Alchemist - The University of New South Wales, NSW

The GPT Group Community Grant Bookend Trust, TAS

Banksia Gold Award

Target 100 - Meat & Livestock Australia, NSW

2011

Education Award - Raising the Bar

The Vortex Centre - Water Wonders in a Building That Teaches - Gippsland Water, VIC

Indigenous - Caring for Country West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Partnership: a 140% success - Warddeken Land Management for WALFA Partners, NT

Land and Biodiversity - Preserving Our Ecosystems Fox-Free Phillip Island Victoria, AustraliaPhillip Island Nature Parks, VIC

Water - Our Most Precious Resource

Gippsland Water Factory - A New Way to Care for Water - Gippsland Water, VIC

Agriculture and Food - From Paddock to Plate Sustainably Gaia Banana Farming: For Healthy Soils, Wetlands and Great Barrier Reef - Gaia Farms, QLD

Built Environment - Harmonious Manmade Landscapes Hepburn Community Wind FarmHepburn Wind, VIC

Leading in Sustainability - Setting the Standard for Large Organisations Sustainability is Good for BusinessFujitsu, VIC

Leading in Sustainability - Setting the Standard for Small Organisations Greening The Wharf - Sydney Theatre Company, NSW

Clean Technology - Harnessing Opportunities

BlueGen - Clean Power For Your HomeCeramic Fuel Cells Ltd., VIC

Transportation - Mindful Movement

Making Electric Cars Make Sense - Better Place Australia, VIC

Banksia People’s Choice Award

Don’t Palm Us Off - Zoos Victoria

Banksia Gold Award

Gippsland Water Factory – A New Way to Care for Water – Gippsland Water, VIC

2010

Education

Switch Your Thinking! Program -South East Regional Energy Group, WA

Water

Bringing Back the Fish - Industry and Investment NSW

Land and Biodiversity

Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth - a Government / Community Partnership to ensure a Future for the Lower Murray - Department of Environment & Natural Resources South Australia, SA

Indigenous - ‘Caring for Country’ Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation - Dhimurru

Aboriginal Corporation, NT

Built Environment

Grocon Pixel Building - Grocon, VIC

Clean Technology

Mini-Hydro Project - Melbourne Water Corporation, VIC

Large Business Sustainability

Fuji Xerox Australia - Fuji Xerox, Australia

Small and Medium Enterprises

Business Sustainability

A Family Commitment to SustainabilityTaylors Wines, NSW

Agriculture and Food

Project Catalyst - The Coca-Cola Foundation, Reef Catchments, WWF, QLD

Transportation, Warehousing & Logistics

Flexicar - Flexicar, VIC

Banksia People’s Choice Award

Kids Teaching Kids - Firestarter Pty Ltd, VIC

Banksia Gold Award

Yellow Crazy Ant Management ProjectDhimurru Aboriginal Corporation, NT

2009

Education

The Green Steps Program - Monash University Sustainability Institute, VIC

Water

A Voice for Water - South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Partnership, QLD

Land and Biodiversity

ACT Land Keepers - Greening Australia

Capital Region, ACT

Indigenous - ‘Caring for Country’

Kimberley Toad Busters’ Cane Toad Education Campaign - Kimberley Toad Busters, WA

Built Environment

Melbourne Convention & Exhibition CentreMelbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, VIC

Eco Innovation

None awarded in 2009

Large Business Sustainability

The GPT Group - The GPT Group, NSW

Small and Medium Enterprises Business Sustainability Ferguson Plarre BakehousesFerguson Plarre Bakehouses P/L, VIC

Agriculture and Food

Giving Vegemite a Sustainable FutureKRAFT Foods, VIC

Environmental Services

Sustainable Events Platform - Sustainable Living Foundation, VIC

Banksia People’s Choice Award

Food Connect - Food Connect, QLD

Banksia Gold Award

Ferguson Plarre Bakehouse, VIC

2008

Built Environment

Trevor Pearcy House - Australian Ethical Investment Ltd., ACT

Climate

Addressing Climate Change - Investa Property Group

Community

Kororoit Creek Waterway RehabilitationFriends of Lower Kororoit Creek Inc., VIC

Eco Innovation

Dulux Powder Coatings & CSIRO “100% ecosustainable coatings technology” - Dulux Powder Coatings, VIC (Partner - CSIRO Division of Materials Science & Engineering)

Education

Earth Hour Australia - WWF Australia (PartnersFairfax Media, Leo Burnett)

Indigenous “NAILSMA Dugong and Marine Turtle Project”

- North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (Partners - Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Savannas Management, Kimberley Land Council, Northern Land Council, Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Cape York Balkanu Development Corporation, Torres Strait Regional Authority)

Land and Biodiversity

BIGG - Biodiversity in Grain and Graze - Kiriganai Research Pty. Ltd. and University of Tasmania, TAS (Partners - Meat & Livestock Australia, Grains R & D Corporation, Australian Wool Innovations, Land & Water Australia and the 62 member organisations of the Grain & Graze Program)

Local Government

Managing Drought in the City of ParksCity of Melbourne, VIC

Business Sustainability Award

ETIKO Fair Trade - ESP P/L., VIC

Water

Vision for the Broken River BasinGoulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, VIC

Banksia People’s Choice Award Rouse Hill Town Centre - The GPT Group, NSW

Banksia Gold Award

WWF Australia – Earth Hour Australia

2007

Built Environment

National Lifestyle Villages National Lifestyle Villages, WA

Climate Award

GridX MiniGrid Tri-Generation System at Mirvac Vision Estate Glenfield Mirvac in Partnership with GridX, NSW

Community

Kimberley Toad Busters Inc, WA

Eco Innovation

PaintbackTM - Dulux, Bunnings, Sustainability Victoria and Chemsal in Partnership with Bluescope Steel and Steel Can Recycling Council, VIC

Education

GreenHome - Australian Conservation Foundation, NSW

Indigenous Carpentaria Ghost Nets Programme - Northern Gulf Resource Management Group, QLD

Land and Biodiversity

Diversity in a Piped System Project - Birchip Cropping Group (BCG), VIC

Local Government

“Retrofitting Randwick” - Randwick City Council, NSW

Sustainability

Westpac: Unlocking Value

Water

Revive Our Wetlands - Conservation Volunteers Australia and BHP Billiton

Banksia People’s Choice Award The Falls Festival

Banksia Gold Award

WESTPAC: UnlockingValue2006

Built Environment

Szencorp Takes Sustainable Buildings to the Next Level at 40 Albert Road - Szencorp, VIC

Climate Award

National Green Power Accreditation ProgramDepartment of Energy Utilities and Sustainability, NSW

Eco Innovation

The “ Waterless Wok” Stove, Sydney Water’s “Every Drop Counts” Business ProgramDepartment of Energy Utilities and Sustainability, NSW

Land and Biodiversity

Back From The Brink: Saving Victoria’s Threatened Orchids - Department of Sustainability and Environment, VIC

Sustainability

Visualising Our Environmental FootprintAustralian Arrow Pty Ltd, VIC

Water

Carpentaria Ghost Nets Programme - Northern Gulf Resource Management Group, QLD

Minerals

Sustainable Mining at Tiwest CooljarlooTiwest, WA

Community

The Tree Scheme, Community Based Environmental Initiative - Trees For Life, SA

Education Village Green’s Sustainable Business Management Model - Village Green Environmental Solutions, VIC

Local Government

Currie Sewage Treatment Wetlands - King Island Council in Partnership with Syrinx Environmental P/L, TAS

Media

Climate Change: Icons Under Threat - Melissa Fyfe and Simon O’Dwyer in Partnership with The Age Newspaper, VIC

Banksia Gold Award

Visualising our Environmental FootprintAustralian Arrow Pty Ltd, VIC

2005

Environmental Leadership In the Community Award

Men of the Trees WA (Inc), WA

Business Environmental Responsibility and Leadership Award

Sustaining Excellence at Toyota Australia, VIC

Government Leading by Example for a Sustainable Future

Fuelling the Future, Driving Sustainable Transport Energy in Western Australia, WA

Environmental Leadership in the Rural Sector Award

Sustainability through Open Inquiry at Random Valley, WA

Sustainable Development Leadership in the Minerals Industry Award

Bengalla Mining Company’s Culture of Sustainability, NSW

Environmental Leadership in Protecting the Bush, Land and Waterways Award Bush For Life: Training and Supporting Volunteers to Care for Bushland, SA

Leadership in Protecting Coastal and Marine Environments Award Living On The Edge, VIC

Environmental Leadership in Infrastructure and Services Award

SLIVER Cells, a Breakthrough in Solar Technology, ANU and Origin Energy, ACT

Leadership in Sustainable Buildings Award

The Puzzle of Sustainable Commercial Development: ‘National@Docklands’, VIC

Leadership in Financial Services and Sustainability Award

Different Cars, Same Colour - mecu goGreen® Car Loan, VIC

Environmental Leadership Education and Training Award

The Natural Advantage of Nations, Book and Training Initiatives, SA

Environmental Leadership in Media Communications Award

Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries

Media Communications, VIC

Banksia Gold Award

Mecu GoGreen Car Loan, VIC

2004

Environmental Leadership in the Community Saving the Paroo River, NSW

Business Environmental Responsibility and Leadership Visy Industries: “We Make It. We Take It”, VIC

Government Leading by Example for a Sustainable Future

The Great Barrier Reef Representative Areas Program: An Ecosystem Approach to Protecting Biodiversity, QLD

Environmental Leadership in the Rural Community Riverside Sanctuary, WA

Sustainable Development Leadership in the Minerals Industry

Wesfarmers Premier Coal, Leading Sustainable Mining Practices, WA

Environmental Leadership in Protecting Bush, Land and Waterways Saving the Paroo River, NSW

Environmental Leadership in Protecting Coastal and Marine

Markwells Bait Tackles Killer Plastic Bags, QLD

Environmental Leadership in Infrastructure and Service

Thiess, Karuah Bypass, NSW

Leadership in Sustainable Product Design

Charlie Carp Fertilizer, NSW

Leadership in Sustainable Buildings Darebin City Council, VIC

Leadership in Socially Responsible Investment Investa Property Group, VIC

Environmental Leadership in Communications Watch Every Drop, Drought Marketing Campaign, Gold Coast Water, QLD

Banksia Gold Award

Visy Industries: “We Make It. We Take It”

2003

Environmental Leadership in the Community Birds Australia Gluepot Reserve, SA

Business Environmental Responsibility and Leadership

VicSuper Contributing to a Sustainable Future, VIC

Government Leading by Example for a Sustainable Future Solar in Schools, Sustainable Energy Development Authority, NSW

Environmental Leadership in the Rural Sector Plumbago Station, SA

Sustainable Development Leadership in the Minerals Industry BHP Billiton, Transforming Policy into Sustainable Outcomes, WA

Environmental Leadership in Protecting Bush, Land and Waterways Control of the Yellow Crazy Ant on Christmas Island - Parks Australia and Monash University, VIC

Environmental Leadership in Protecting Coastal and Marine Environments

The Marine and Coastal Community Network, QLD

Environmental Leadership in Infrastructure and Service

Douglas Shire Council, SA

Leadership in Sustainable Product Design

The Orbital Combustion Process 2-Stroke Motorcycle Technology - Orbital Engine Corporation Limited, WA

Leadership in Sustainable Buildings

60L Green Building, Spowers Victoria, Green Building Partnership, Lincolne Scott, VIC

Leadership in Socially Responsible Investment

VicSuper: Sustainability Investing for a Sustainable Future, VIC

Environmental Leadership in Communications ‘Your Home?’ Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, Sydney, The Australian Greenhouse Office, NSW

2002

Environmental Leadership in the Community Central Hopkins Land Protection Association, VIC

Corporate Responsibility and Leadership City West Water’s Path to Sustainability, VIC

Government Leading By Example Landcom Leading by Example, NSW

Bush, Land and Waterways Greening Australia, Bidgee Banks, NSW

Coastal and Marine

Phillip Island, Victoria, Protecting Little Penguins on the Summerland Peninsula, VIC

Buildings City of Melville, Piney Lakes Environmental Education Centre, WA

Infrastructure and Services

The Alcoa Portland SPL Treatment Process, VIC

Manufactured Products

Visy Closed Loop and Qantas, VIC

Socially Responsible Investment Australian Ethical Investment, VIC

Communications

Parks Victoria, Healthy Parks Healthy People, VIC

2001

Outstanding Individual Achievement

Ian Lawrence

Community Group Achievement

Useless Loop Community Biosphere Project Group for ‘The Heirisson Prong Project’, WA

Corporate Responsibility and Leadership Stanwell Corporation Ltd, QLD

Government/ Non Profit: Leading by Example Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA), NSW

Small Business Responsibility and Leadership

Abbotsleigh Citrus Pty Ltd, QLD

Bush, Land and Waterways

National Parks and Wildlife, SA

Coastal and Marine

WWF Australia Dhimurru Land Management

Aboriginal Corporation Conservation Volunteers Australia NT Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, NT

Buildings

The University Of Newcastle, NSW

Infrastructure and Services

Olympic Coordination Authority, NSW

Manufactured Products AQ Australia, SA

Socially Responsible Investment Westpac Investment Management/Monash University, VIC

Communications

Sustainable Energy Enterprise Developments P/L: SunRace, VIC2000

Communications

CSIRO Publishing, VIC

Community Groups WildCare Incorporated, TAS

Corporate Environmental Leadership Stanwell Corporation Ltd, QLD

Education and Training Category Water Corporation of West Australia, WA

Environmental Business Practice

Riverland Oil Seed Processors, VIC

Flora and Fauna Conservation Category Olympic Co-ordination Authority, NSW

Innovation Award

Bill Hicks, NSW

Land, Bush and Waterways Goulburn Murray Water, VIC

Local Agenda 21 Achievement Award Brighton Council, TAS

Research and Development

Baleen Filters Pty Ltd, SA

Resource Conservation and Waste Minimisation

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation, VIC1999

Community

The Superb Parrot Project, VIC

Education/Training

Helen Tyas Tunggal, NSW

Environmental Business Practice Pacific Power, VIC

Communication

Ian Henschke, ABCTV ‘Landline’

Flora and Fauna Conservation Victorian Peregrine Project, VIC

Land and Waterways Management

Andrew McLennan, VIC

Innovation

Coca-Cola Amatil (Aust) Pty Ltd, NSW

Resource Conservation and Waste Minimisation Couran Cove Resort, South Stradbroke Island, QLD

Construction Practices

Abigroup Contractors Pty Ltd, NSW

Coastal and Marine Environments

CRC Reef Research Centre, QLD

Research and Development Award

Environmental Solutions International, WA

Banksia Sustainability Awards Judges

The Banksia Judging and Awards Governance Committee is heavily underpinned by the dedicated individuals that give up their time and expertise in order to review each entry. These individuals have been selected for their expertise and their commitment to Banksia’s mission of identifying and celebrating Australian leadership.

The Banksia Foundation would like to thank our judges - over 50 of thembased right around Australia. These judges are independent to the Banksia Board and Staff. It is of the utmost importance for the Foundation to maintain the independence of the judging process and this is fundamental to the integrity of the Banksia Awards. The judges are all specialists in their field and the judging panels are constructed so that each judge is assigned to a category, which matches their expertise. All potential conflicts of interest are declared from the outset and these judges do not take part in that particular entry’s assessment.

Banksia would like to acknowledge our Head of the Audit and Risk Committee, Jo Cain. Her commitment and support along with the other Audit and Risk Committee members is invaluable and ensures that we maintain a viable, efficient and reputable judging process.

On behalf of the Banksia Foundation we would like to thank the following individuals who have provided their time and expertise in judging the 33rd Banksia Sustainability Awards:

Andrew Block

Andrew Chamberlin

Andrew Sellick

Angela Crossland

Anne Astin

Barbara Nebel

Bobby Ali-Khan

Bram Mason

Cameron Jones

Carolyn Ingvarson

Charles Rendigs

Cheryl Taylor

Chiara Pacifici

David Meiklejohn

David Morgans

Dominique Hes

Hayley Purbrick

Helen Milicer

Iain Smale

Izabella Kobylanski

Jeffrey Robinson

John King

Julie Boulton

Kerry Lorimer

Laura Hamilton-O'Hara

Mark Thomson

Meredith Banks

Nadya Krienke Becker

Nicola Schroder

Parrys Raines

Pip Marks

Richard Pittard

Ross Wyatt

Rupert Posner

Russell Seaman

Sara Redmond-Neal

Scott Losee

Sheree Marris

Shona Cameron

Stacey Daniel

Steph Rich

Stephen Reardon

Suzanne Mildren

Tammy Marshal

Thomas Bauer

The Pimpama River Conservation Area is located on the southern bank of the Pimpama River and borders the Southern Moreton Bay Marine Park and a Ramsar listed wetland.

Evelyn Jonkman

Francis Madigan

Rob Catchlove

Robin Mellon

Tom Davies

Tom Garrish

Wendy Hill

Will Rayward-Smith

THIS BOOK IS DESIGNED BY

Vania Japri

Vania Japri is a graphic designer that creates visual concepts to final outcome. She specializes in: Branding, Photography, 2D motion design, Website / User Interface, Illustration, Packaging and Editorial layout.

For all enquiries please contact:

van Egmond CEO, Banksia Foundation

T: +61 419 101 248

E: graz@banksiafdn.com

www.banksiafdn.com

Graz