New 'green' landscape: what does it mean for business?
AN EARLY OPPORTUNITY to hear expert opinion on what the Federal Government's new ‘positive action' on climate change will mean for business will come at Friday's Innovation Series luncheon in Brisbane.
The theme of this luncheon, Green Growth - delivering a natural advantage for environmental sustainability and economic growth, is particularly timely following the recent Federal Election result, which heralds a change in approach to ‘green' economics that will modify behaviour in the business sector.
With the projected demise of the current Emissions Trading Scheme and Carbon Tax, business is considering its role in the ‘positive action' landscape proposed by the new Liberal-National Party Government.
This Queensland Innovation Series event delves deep into the realities of how organisations across Australia can and must re-shape themselves to maximise both environmental sustainability and profitability. This Innovation Series event also highlights the opportunities for Queensland to become a major regional hub for bio-based industries and, in doing so, build new sustainable industries to enhance the state's economic future.
Keynote speaker, John O'Brien is the founder and managing director of Australian CleanTech. He facilitates the Australian CleanTech Network that holds events around the country, providing opportunities for clean technologies (cleantech) collaboration - and he also publishes both the Australian CleanTech Index and the annual Australian CleanTech Review.
Mr O'Brien will explain the drivers behind cleantech, review the business case for its adoption and provide examples of how industry is benefiting from moving early - and how cleantech can deliver a competitive advantage over the competition. He demonstrates how cleantech simply makes good business sense - especially as there are new government grants to help pay for its adoption.
Also presenting at the Innovation Series is Associate Professor Ian O'Hara, the leader for Bioenergy research at the QUT Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities. From his experience, a key contributor to future growth will be the utilisation of residues from agriculture to produce fuels, chemicals and value-added bio-based products for markets in Australia and throughout Asia.
Prof. O'Hara's presentation will discuss the opportunities for Queensland to become a major regional hub for bio-based industries and, in doing so, build new sustainable industries to enhance Queensland's economic future.
Examining a lesser understood area of opportunity for business is Fiona Waterhouse, the CEO and executive director of Utilitas Pty Ltd - a specialist biogas asset development company which has a portfolio of biogas projects in Australia with a view to expanding throughout the Asia Pacific.
Her Innovation Series presentation will give an entrepreneur's view of unleashing what she calls the "the Green Growth opportunity" - which seems vast, she said, considering Australia throws away enough organic waste each year to power more than one million homes.
The Innovation Series events in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, organised by Zernike Australia, provide a unique forum convening researchers, industry and government to address and discuss leading developments in sustainability, while also encouraging the exchange of ideas and inviting new collaborations.
The Brisbane event has operated since 2004 and is partnered by the Australian Institute for Commercialisation. QUT and CSIRO are Innovation Series platinum partners and Hynes Legal is the event's supporting gold partner.
Business Acumen has been a media partner for the Innovation Series since 2004.
http://www.innovationseries.com.au/
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