Carbon Offsets

Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Greenhouse Friendly™:
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/greenhousefriendly/

The Greenhouse Friendly™ initiative has been operating since 2001 to certify carbon neutral products and services and approve abatement credits for sale on the voluntary market, including to Greenhouse Friendly™ certified product and service providers.

Greenhouse Friendly™ has been an effective and successful avenue for participation in the voluntary carbon market in Australia.

Introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (the Scheme) has implications for Greenhouse Friendly™. The Scheme will have broad sectoral coverage, which means there will be less scope to pursue offset activities with offsets limited to emissions sources uncovered by the Scheme. This means the Scheme will impact on the types of abatement that can be provided, because abatement in sectors covered by the Scheme will no longer be additional to “business as usual”.

For these reasons Greenhouse Friendly™ will wind up on 1 July 2010.

Greenhouse Friendly™ certification of carbon neutral products and services will continue to operate until 1 July 2010. Applications for new abatement projects have closed. Abatement may be generated by current Greenhouse Friendly™ abatement providers up to 1 July 2010, and may still be sold and purchased after that date.

The Government has made a commitment to develop a National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) to provide national consistency and give consumers confidence in the voluntary carbon offset market. The NCOS will provide the function of Greenhouse Friendly™ in a way that complements the Scheme.

Carbonica – Guaranteed carbon offsetting: http://www.carbonica.org/default.aspx

Calculators

Qld Government Carbon Caluclator: http://www.climatesmart.qld.gov.au/get_involved/low_carbon_diet/low_carbon_diet_-_set_your_goals/carbon_calculator/calculator_form

The Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) has a carbon calculator available on its website. A carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of greenhouse gas (or carbon dioxide equivalent) that’s produced from our daily activities over a year. This carbon calculator will help you broadly calculate your carbon footprint.

To complete the calculator you will need your last four electricity bills and gas bills (if relevant). We do strongly encourage you to use your bills in the calculator so you can get an accurate representation of your current situation. Even by entering in the four bills, you might see some seasonal differences!

If you don’t have these bills handy, you can use our default figures (which represent the Queensland average) for the time being and come back later and adjust your figures.

After you have completed the carbon calculator, DERM will send you an email that will include your results and offer you some simple tips on how you can reduce you carbon emissions.

Resurgence Carbon Calculator:
http://www.resurgence.org/resources/carbon-calculator.html

• came first in an independent survey of carbon calculators on-line
• is widely recognised as the most user-friendly and accurate on-line carbon calculator
• is often the single calculator referred to in articles on carbon footprinting

You can use the full calculator to:

• Easily and accurately calculate your carbon footprint
• See which areas of your lifestyle allow the easiest CO2 savings
• Monitor your CO2 emissions from year to year
• Enjoy the feel good factor of knowing how much CO2 you have saved

This is the accurate calculator which requires your domestic energy bills and MOT certificate. If you do not have access to these, select the quick calculator: http://www.resurgence.org/resources/quickcalc.html

Carbonica Carbon Calculator:
http://www.carbonica.org/default.aspx#calc

Assesments & Resources

ecoBiz:
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/environmental_management/sustainability/ecobiz_queensland/

ecoBiz is the Department of Environment and Resource Management's signature partnership program with Queensland business and industry. ecoBiz assists businesses identify efficiencies in waste, water and energy for financial and environmental benefits.

Climate Smart Business Clusters:
http://www.climatesmart.qld.gov.au/your_business/business_clusters

The ClimateSmart Business Cluster Program is about Queensland businesses working together. It helps Queensland businesses team up with a Cluster Leader to identify opportunities and increase knowledge on how to improve energy, water and waste efficiency. Cluster Leaders motivate, improve knowledge and assist participating businesses reduce business costs by improving eco-efficiency.

Green Star Building Program:
http://www.gbca.org.au/green-star/green-star-overview/

Green Star is a comprehensive, national, voluntary environmental rating system that evaluates the environmental design and construction of buildings and, with 11 per cent of Australia's CBD commercial office buildings Green Star certified, building green is now a business imperative.

The following Green Star rating tools are available:

Green Star - Multi Unit Residential v1
Green Star - Healthcare v1
Green Star - Retail Centre v1
Green Star - Education v1
Green Star - Office Design v3

Green Star - Office As Built v3
Green Star - Office Design v2
Green Star - Office As Built v2
Green Star - Office Interiors v1.1

Read about Green Star Certification
Read about Green Star Technical Manuals

BSSB Small Business Sustainability Checklist

Download Sustainability Checklist

BSSB Small Business Toolkit

Download Small Business Toolkit

BSSB Small Business Sustainability Planning Guide

Download Small Business Sustainability Planning Guide

Greenbizcheck

Greenbizcheck is just about to launch its new online tool, GreenITCheck . GreenBizCheck and the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) are pleased to announce the launch of one of the most comprehensive Green IT Assessment and Certification Standards called GreenITCheck.

The Green Standard has been extensively reviewed by leading industry specialists from both the IT and environmental sectors. GreenITCheck's online, world-leading assessment has been heavily researched and comprises the latest European and Australian best practice green IT standards. Once the 30 minute assessment is completed, clients are provided with an in-depth report containing a wide range of practical measures to reach Bronze, Silver or Gold certification. The comprehensive assessment encompasses the following sections:

• Data centres and storage
• Networks
• Waste reduction and recycling
• Printers and workstations

The Sustainability Challenge

The Sustainability Challenge is a unique and innovative tool that will serve as a catalyst for shifting thinking about sustainability in your organisation and creating change. It is adapted from the globally successful Diversity Challenge , which is used by a wide range of organisations across the globe.

The Sustainability Challenge is a facilitated software tool used in workshops and events for small groups or hundreds of people. The Sustainability Challenge draws on the expertise of a wide range of Sustainability professionals and academics to provide one of the comprehensive sustainability organisational change tools available today. Whether your goal is to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of sustainability and the business imperative or you want to achieve a shift in organisational culture to a responsible, equitable long-term view, then the Sustainability Challenge is the tool that will give you the means to create this change. Through its highly engaging, experiential, fun and competitive workshop process, the Sustainability Challenge fulfils a threefold objective:

• Training: Building the knowledge and capability of employees and leaders alike;
• Auditing: Collecting valuable data about your organisation's sustainability status quo; and,
• Strategy: Creating an informed strategic blueprint on the way forward.

The Sustainability Challenge has a substantial library of content, yet has been designed with flexibility and customisability in mind to provide a relevant and fitting solution for your organisation.

To view an introductory video on the Sustainability Challenge, please click here.

Action Stations for Tourism Operations

Low Carbon Diet Menu

Smart Growth Business Checklist

Smart Growth Business Checklist Document

Grants & Incentives

Australian Business Funding Centre:
http://australiangovernmentgrants.org/

Queensland Government Grants:
https://www.smartservice.qld.gov.au/services/grants/discoverbywizard.action

Australian Government GrantsLINK:
http://www.grantslink.gov.au/

Queensland Sustainable Energy Innovation Fund (QSEIF):
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/environmental_management/sustainability/energy/queensland_sustainable_energy_innovation_fund_qseif/index.html

Administered by the Sustainable Community Division of the Department of Environment and Resource Management, assists Queensland based organisations to develop innovative technologies that reduce consumption of fossil fuels, water or greenhouse gas emissions. The program focuses on the development and commercialisation of sustainable technologies, rather than pure research. Since 1999, QSEIF has committed $8.9 million in funding to 77 innovative energy and water saving projects in Queensland.
Find out more about the aims of QSEIF, what type of projects are eligible for funding. Read more...

Common questions about how QSEIF projects are funded, eligibility of projects and project costs for QSEIF funding, collaboration between project partners, etc are answered here. Read more...

QSEIF application process. Find out when the next funding round is and view the QSEIF guidelines for the current or most recent funding round. Read more...

Previous rounds. View a description of previous QSEIF funding recipients. Read more...

Qld Solar Bonus Scheme (feed in tariff)
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/environmental_management/sustainability/energy/solar_bonus_scheme_feedin_tariff.html

The Queensland Government Solar Bonus Scheme is a program that pays domestic and other small energy customers for the surplus electricity generated from roof-top solar photovoltaic (PV) systems that is exported to the Queensland electricity grid. The scheme rewards customers whenever they generate more electricity than they are using - not just the balance at the end of the quarter, but whenever generation exceeds consumption during the day. For more information on the Solar Bonus Scheme please contact the Department of Mines and Energy or visit the website http://www.cleanenergy.qld.gov.au/solar_bonus_scheme.cfm

Qld Renewable Energy Plan
http://www.cleanenergy.qld.gov.au/queensland_renewable_energy_plan.cfm

The Queensland Renewable Energy Plan is a comprehensive economic and industry development strategy aimed at accelerating the growth of the renewable energy sector in Queensland. The successful implementation of the Plan will help leverage up to $3.5 billion in new investment, create up to 3,500 new jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Plan is a bold industry development strategy that articulates the Australian Government's vision to achieve at least 20 per cent of investment generated through the national Renewable Energy Target. This will result in the generation of 9,000 gigawatt hours
(or approximately 2,500 megawatts) of Queensland based renewable energy by 2020.

The Queensland Government estimates that successful implementation of the Plan will help leverage up to $3.5 billion in new investment, create up to 3,500 jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40 million tonnes by 2020.

Download the Queensland Renewable Energy Plan. (PDF - 2MB)

Download the Queensland Renewable Energy Plan Fact Sheet (PDF 153Kb)

Federal Government Green Loans Program

There have been many problems associated with this program. For more information about the program’s status see Minister Penny Wong’s March 2010 media release: http://www.climatechange.gov.au/minister/wong/2010/major-speeches/March/sp20100310.aspx

National Rainwater and Greywater Initiative:
http://www.environment.gov.au/water/programs/nrgi/index.html

The National Rainwater and Greywater Initiative provides rebates of up to $500 for households to install rainwater tanks or greywater systems.