Events 2010
Presenters: Vanessa Rauland, Samantha Hall & Peter Tickler
Date: Thursday 26th August 2010
Time: 11.30am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle
Topic: Decarbonising CUSP through behaviour change initiatives
Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute is decarbonising their office in Fremantle. Every business and individual has a role to play when it comes to reducing emissions. CUSP recognises that we, as practitioners and advocates of sustainability, should be leading the way and showing what can be done to lower the carbon footprint of workplaces. We have recently undertaken a carbon audit, which has helped to identify CUSP’s main emission sources. With this information, we are now looking to develop various strategies that can be implemented within our building and operations to reduce our carbon footprint. We are setting up a green management team to help facilitate the strategies and drive the reduction. Having to deal with issues of split incentives (owner/occupier issues regarding retrofitting), CUSP will be focusing on the significant reduction opportunities resulting from behaviour change. One of the first measures CUSP will be implementing is a live energy monitoring system that will be displayed at the entrance of the building. This will help to educate and increase staff and students awareness of the impact of their electricity consumption, what this translates to in carbon emissions, as well as costs for our institute.
During this informal seminar, we will briefly run through the results of the carbon audit, discuss some ideas for how we can reduce our overall resource consumption (including waste, paper, water) and finish with a demonstration of the new energy monitoring equipment - its capabilities and how it can assist in and promote behaviour change.
About the Presenters
- Vanessa Rauland is coordinating an ARC Project CUSP on ‘Decarbonising Cities and Regions’ and writing her PhD around Carbon Neutral Land Development;
- Sam Hall is studying her Masters in Sustainability Management through Curtin’s Centre for Cleaner Production and CUSP and undertook CUSP’s carbon audit;
- Peter Tickler is a Director at Greensense, a Perth based climate change consultancy specialising in stakeholder engagement and behaviour change and is supplying and managing the energy monitoring equipment and software.
Presenter: Charlie Hargroves
Date: Thursday, 19 August 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle
Topic: ‘Meet the New Adjunct: TNEP and CUSP...’
Charlie Hargroves, co-founder of The Natural Edge Project and new adjunct member of the CUSP team, will provide an overview of his numerous achievements and publications that he intends to draw on in his new role to assist Professor Newman and the CUSP team in the development, management, and delivery of a series of upcoming projects. Charlie is a civil engineering graduate from Adelaide University and co-founded ‘The Natural Edge Project’ (TNEP) as an Australian based, non-profit, Sustainability Think-Tank in 2002. Including a 12 month visiting scholar position to the University of Colorado, Boulder, since 2002 Charlie has been the Chief Investigator on over 1.7 million dollars of research grants and achieved an average of 3.5 HERDC points per year. Charlie is also currently completing his PhD under the supervision of Professor Newman in the area of sustainable development policy and economic development. Charlie has worked with or has been mentored by a number of internationally renowned experts in the field of sustainable development, including Alan AtKisson, Amory Lovins, Ernst von Weizsäcker, Gro Brundtland, Lester Brown, Leo Jensen, Peter Newman, R. K. Pachauri, and William McDonough. The TNEP flagship collaborative 2005 book, ‘The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century’ (Earthscan), was awarded the Australian Banksia Award for Environmental Leadership, Education and Training. Building on this work Charlie has led the TNEP team to deliver a series of international books and publications, including, 'Whole System Design: An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Engineering' (Earthscan 2008), 'Energy Transformed: Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change Mitigation', the update of ‘Factor 4’ co-authored with Ernst von Weizsäcker, and a response to the Brundtland Commission’s report ‘Our Common Future’.
Presenter: Carolyn Hofmeester
Date: Thursday, 24th June 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle
Topic: Reflexive and Relational Governance for Climate Change
Abstract
Economic and administrative rationalism tends to dominate public policy and governance approaches on climate change with an emphasis on market-based solutions and expert-based scientific, technological and managerial problem solving. It has become evident however, that reliance on these discourses is not sufficient to address the highly complex problem of climate change. Climate change has become as much a social/behavioral phenomena as a biophysical one. This seminar will present research that is being undertaken within the CSIRO Coastal Collaboration Cluster aimed at building the capacity of coastal governance to respond to climate change. Drawing on social constructionist ideas about relational practices and social learning coupled with an innovative Causal Layered Analysis method, this research seeks to develop a more reflexive and relational governance system that has the capacity to act decisively and collaboratively on climate change.
About the presenter
Carolyn is completing a PhD through the School of Psychology Curtin University and is a member of the Governance research team within the Coastal Collaboration Cluster, headed by Assoc Prof Laura Stocker. Carolyn has over 15 years working with government on public policy, planning and governance in areas as diverse as Indigenous affairs, justice, transport, public works, housing and science and innovation. For the past three years, she has concentrated on climate change policy research including a period of time with the Conservation Council of WA.
Workshop announcement: An introduction to the landscape model ALCES
When: Thursday 27 May 2010
Where: Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, Fremantle
Registration: Free
This one-day course (9.00 am to 4.00 pm) offers land-use planners and sustainability and industry practioneers from a full suite of disciplines (environment, tourism, mining, agriculture, forestry, energy, transport, residential development, wildlife managers, fire and emergency services, etc.) an opportunity to learn about ALCES III, A Landscape Cumulative Effects Simulator.
ALCES® is a landscape simulator that enables resource managers, society, and the scientific community to visualise and quantify historic and future changes in regional landscapes subjected to multiple land-use practices and various natural disturbance regimes. ALCES allows managers to take into account cumulative impacts at regional scales of various projects and development proposals.
ALCES assists resource managers in identifying strategic-level environmental and industrial challenges associated with overlapping uses and resource management objectives and in discovering mitigation strategies for issues related to flows of natural resources. Although ALCES can be run for relatively small landscapes of thousands of hectares, it is best suited to large regional landscapes of millions of hectares. Additional information about ALCES III is available at http://www.alces.ca.
Who should attend?
This workshop is intended for sustainability practioneers, seeking to integrate environmental, economic and social aspects of regional planning and development using the latest techniques in modelling and cumulative impact assessment.
Workshop facilitation and coordination
The workshop will be facilitated by Dr Brad Stelfox, principal of ALCES Landuse and Landscape Ltd. and coordinated in Australia by Dr Jean-Paul Orsini, University Associate at CUSP.
For more information, please call Jean-Paul on 0405 006 720.
Topic: Sustainability in Khayelitsha - Reality or Impossible Dream?
Presenter: Dinny Laurence
Date: Thursday, 22nd April 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle
Abstract
Khayelitsha (meaning "our new home") is a sprawling shanty town built on the Cape Flats, with a population of about 2 million people. It is surrounded by places of great beauty: to the West, the iconic trio of Table Mountain, Devil's Peak and Lion's Head beckon one to elegant and prosperous Cape Town, and to the South a magnificent if somewhat treacherous coast line stretches in both directions as far as the eye can see.
To the West To the South
In the mountains to the North are historic towns and many vineyards, or you can head East along the Garden Route to the seaside resorts of Hermanus and Plettenberg Bay. But the Cape Flats are inhospitable. Once submerged by sea, the country is as flat as the name suggests, and sandy and infertile. There is no natural protection from the driving rain in winter, or from the extreme heat in the summer, when the relentless South Easter sometimes blows for weeks on end.
In Khayelitsha life is a struggle. All the residents are poor, and many are destitute. The shacks provide inadequate shelter from the elements, crime is rife, unemployment high and poor health endemic, particularly AIDS and gastric illness because of the bad sanitation. The local economy is not well established, so most of those who have work must travel for hours - either by train or minibus, both of which are unreliable and dangerous - to their jobs in the city.
Sustainability is not a concept that is well understood by the people of Khayelitsha; the driving force of life there is survival. But in the midst of this hopelessness there are pockets of hope, and the Indlovu Project is one of those.
This talk is about Indlovu, which means "elephant", or metaphorically, "wisdom" or "strength". It is about the eco-village that was built, and destroyed, and is being re-built; about its successes and failures, the political and practical problems that trouble it, and both the resilience and destructiveness of its people. It is an unfinished story, and no-one yet knows how it will end.
About the presenter
I grew up in South Africa.
After doing a BA in English at the University of Cape Town I went to Besancon in France for four months and then travelled extensively in Canada and the USA. I finally got to London where I did a post graduate certificate of education, followed by an MA in English at York University in Toronto.
Once back in London I taught (briefly) at a boys' comprehensive school in Croydon. This small taste of the "blackboard jungle" I found so terrifying that I retreated to the safety of the law, qualifying as a solicitor in 1976.
In 1980 I went back to South Africa where I worked as company secretary and in-house counsel to an oil and mining company. After four years, since there was no sign of a change in government or abatement in apartheid, I decided to return to London. This time I went overland through Africa in a Bedford truck. We had many breakdowns and many adventures, including climbing Kilimanjaro which I rate as my greatest achievement.
In London I was again company secretary and in-house counsel to an oil and gas conglomerate, Baker Hughes Limited, until a combination of the English weather and too many hours spent commuting drove me to seek an alternative. My son Joe and I arrived in Perth in 1988 and live here still. I have a partner, Kerry, and four step-daughters.
After twenty years, first in private practice with Freehills and then in-house with the National Bank, I finally saw the light and took off in a new direction. I am proud to be among CUSP's first intake of students in 2008, and to have completed a graduate diploma in Sustainability Studies in May last year. In June I again went back to South Africa, where I worked for five months as a volunteer with the Indlovu community and housing project in a shanty town near Cape Town. That project is the subject of my talk today.
Topic: COP15 - Copenhagen 2009
Presenter: Vanessa Rauland
Date: Thursday, 1st April 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle
Abstract
The UN Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen in December last year (COP15) was larger than any of the previous 14 climate conferences, with an estimated 45,000 registered participants. Vanessa Rauland, a researcher at CUSP, attended the summit and will be sharing her firsthand experience on the event. She will attempt to shed some light on the UN climate change negotiations process, including the role of ‘side events'- with a particular focus on the built environment, as well as discussing what role the UN negotiations process may play in the future.
About the presenter
Vanessa Rauland joined CUSP in 2009 as Project Coordinator for an ARC funded Linkage Grant on Decarbonising Cities and Regions. She is also undertaking her PhD as part of the project, in the area of Carbon Neutral Land Development. She has a BA in Nature Tourism from La Trobe University and a MSc in Environment and Resource Management from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, with specialisations in energy and carbon management, particularly as it relates to policy. Prior to joining CUSP, Vanessa spent four years in Europe working and studying in the areas of climate change, sustainable transport and carbon management. She is particularly interested in renewable energy, energy efficiency, the built environment and emissions trading and how these areas can help to address climate change.
Topic: Immigration and Population
Presenter: Emeritus Professor Reg Appleyard
Date: Thursday, 11th March 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle
About the presenter
Emeritus Professor Reg Appleyard AM, BA(hons) UWA, MA, PhD (Duke), Hon.
DLitt. (Curtin), FASSA.
Hon. Senior Research Fellow, Business School, The University of Western Australia.
Main field of research is economic demography, with emphasis on the economics of international migration and the economic history of Australia.
He is immediate past-President of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society Inc. and currently President of the UWA Historical Society.
He is currently writing up the final phase of a longitudinal study on the adaptation of Greece-born women in Australia.
Appleyard has authored/co-authored 10 books, edited/co-edited 14 books and written over 100 articles/chapters and 20 reports for governments.
Topic: Masdar, Dubai Rail and Singapore...some recent inspiration for a more sustainable world
Presenter: Professor Peter Newman
Date: Thursday, 25 Feb 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle
Abstract
Masdar, the carbon-free city in UAE, is being built and I will report back on my impressions of this brave experiment, what it can teach us and what seems to be not so relevant. Dubai Rail was a real surprise and shows what money can do when directed to common good transport... Then Singapore for nearly a month where I taught a Sustainable Cities course to 27 post grads from across Asia. Singapore has a number of impressive programs that fit the Resilient City ‘seven characteristics'. These will be illustrated before discussing how CUSP could play an important part in teaching sustainable planning and urban management in this high density city which is becoming the model for much of Asia.
About the presenter
As one of Australia's leading academics and planners, Professor Newman heads a team of more than 20 top staff and researchers that make up the Curtin Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute. Professor Newman developed the State Sustainability Strategy 2001-2003, and coined the term "automobile dependence" to describe how we have created cities where we have to drive everywhere. For more than 30 years he has been warning cities about preparing for 'peak oil' and in Perth, Peter is known for his work in saving, rebuilding and extending the rail system which is now considered a global model.
Presenter: Tony Brun, CEO City of Geraldton
Date: Thursday 7th October, 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle
Topic: Geraldton: From Local to Global Regional City
Abstract
Geraldton is emerging as a major regional city in WA with a number of global projects that are focussing everyone’s attention on the region: the Oakajee Port and Rail system that opens up a new mining province; and industrial centre the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope and data analysis centre; the renewable energy hub at Walkaway.
The City of Geraldton-Greenough has forged a partnership with CUSP to assist them become a truly carbon neutral city of the future.
How does a regional city cope with the expected growth whilst attempting to be a leader in sustainability?
What are the human dimensions to this challenge?
Tony Brun, the new Chair of the CUSP Board will show how he is looking to proceed and how CUSP can help.
About the presenter
Tony Brun is a qualified professional civil engineer and has a Masters in Business Administration and a Company Directors Diploma. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Geraldton-Greenough.
His role in Geraldton-Greenough includes directing an organisation with an annual budget of over $87 million and 312 full time staff and has over $400 million in assets.
Tony has extensive experience in executive and professional roles in the private sector, public works and local government. His previous roles include being the Managing Director of Brenta Management, the Executive Manager City Development for the City of Bunbury; the Director of Engineering at the Town of Narrogin and he also held engineering roles with Maroochy Shire (Qld), Main Roads (Qld) and George Bourne & Associates (central Qld).
Tony also has extensive board experience including 4 years as the non-executive chairman of the South West catchments Councils Incorporated. SWCC at its peak was responsible for the planning and delivery of over $30 million per annum of government natural resource management projects.
Tony is passionate about creating a sustainable future through city planning, urban design and infrastructure provision all within a strong environmental framework. He is also a strong believer in empowering communities and creating a new regionally focused governance structure.
Tony is married to Lyn and has 3 boys Luca, Damon and Xavier.
Please feel welcome to join us before the seminar for a morning tea at 11.00am.
