The Avant Group’s new traceability grants program is now open. The grant aims to modernise agricultural trade by protecting Australia’s clean green brand initiative.
Organisations intending to track product movements through the stages of production, processing and distribution can be eligible for the grant, starting from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of $500,000.
The federal government funded the grant, which will fund a total of $4 million over the next two financial years.
University Green news
UNSW partners with Korean Kyung Hee University on green roofs
New research produced by University of New South Wales professor Indira Adilkhanova, co-authored with Kyung Hee University’s professor Geun Young Yun, found that Seoul could be cooled by approximately 1 degree Celsius during summer with rooftop greenery coverage.
Their study, published in the journal Nature Cities, claimed to be the first to analyse the transformative effect of green roofs on urban scale energy consumption and climate conditions. If successful, the study would provide a template for modelling green roof potential in other cities worldwide.
The study finds that green roofs are a promising strategy for mitigating urban overheat and energy consumption and can be installed on both new and retrofitted buildings, making them a scalable nature-based solution.
The Responsible Minerals Initiative Investor Network has welcomed its inaugural member – Stewart Investors. Network members will work with various investment industry stakeholders to advance responsible mining, mineral sourcing, and renewable energy transition.
The RMI is part of the Responsible Business Alliance to give investors access to due diligence tools and collaborative opportunities. Its mission is to enable companies to responsibly source minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. It stated that there is a need for institutional investors to work with downstream companies to drive ESG agendas but lacked the tools, expertise, and connections.
Canada
Canada drops large road projects for sustainable ones
Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the federal government will stop investing in new road infrastructure. According to Canadian publisher CBC, the comment immediately “drew attacks from the opposition conservatives and some premiers who said the climate activist turned politician is out of touch.” Guilbeault later clarified that the government would not put cash into “large road projects” in Ottawa, as the existing infrastructure was already adequate. Instead, Guilbeault said that federal money spent on asphalt and concrete should be “better invested into projects that will help fight climate change and adapt to its impacts”.
What we are reading:
There’s a low emissions truck running on recycled cooking oil.
A number of mastheads covered the pilot run of Australia’s biggest waste collector, Cleanaway’s HVO100-powered trucks. Funding and collaboration of the project is by the City of Casey and supermarket giant Coles, hoping the new technology will reduce its Scope 3 emissions.
The New York Times noted that several golf courses in America, including in Detroit, Pennsylvania, Colorado, upstate New York, and California, have been “transformed into nature preserves, parks and wetlands”. The support for rewilding comes from a number of land trusts, municipalities, and nonprofit groups that purchased the land.