Building T, Deakin University

Building T at Deakin University, Burwood in Victoria was designed by DesignInc. The development, located in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, utilises thermal mass and hybrid ventilation systems. This case study provides a detailed evaluation of the building in terms of its energy efficient design features.

Environmental reporting initiatives: towards triple-bottom line reporting or the intergration of financial and environmental performance

This objective of this study was to investigate the quantity and quality of voluntary environmental disclosures in the annual reports of the top 500 firms listed by market capitalisation on the Australian Stock Exchange. The periods examined were those immediately prior and subsequent to the release of the Exposure Draft Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economics (CERES) Global Reporting Initiatives(GRI) issued in March 1999. Using content analysis to focus on the environmental aspects, and drawing heavily on the research of Gamble et al (1995), the study compared 425 annual reports over a two year period and 60 environmental reports, in order to explore reporting practices in the periods surrounding this intervention. The results suggest a trend to triple bottom reporting, and a significant change in the quality and quantity of environmental information, albeit in specific categories.

Measuring regional sustainability: lessons to be learned

Developing tools for measuring progress toward sustainability has proven a challenging task. Indicators offer an excellent means to explore the success or otherwise of management strategies. They also allow reporting social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability. To ensure that the tools developed are effective in measuring the progress toward sustainable futures, an evaluation of the methods and the indicators used must be undertaken so that with progress there is learning and with the new knowledge methods can be redesigned to better advance sustainability. This paper discusses a study carried out in the south west region of Victoria, Australia, using indicators as the basis for developing a tool to measure progress toward sustainability. By evaluating the methods and indicators used in the study this paper provides an insight into the challenges encountered and the lessons learned. Issues explored include selecting indicators, collating data, integrating social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability and using an adaptive approach.

Evaluation of an environmental rating tool for commercial building design

This research examined the inclusion of environmental rating tools in the design of commercial buildings. Environmental issues are becoming increasingly important for designers and the results of the study suggest that rating tools can be an asset to design teams, provided they are integrated and reinforced throughout the design process.

Culture clash : artistic production and the school environment

Artists-in-schools programs involving contemporary art practices can be transformational for the participants when environmental considerations are integral to the planning and structure of the project and both the form and content of the program are reflected upon critically.

Stabilisation of brown coal fly ash using geopolymers

This research explores geopolymer technology as a means of stabilising fly ash from power stations. By controlling the synthesis process, geopolymeric materials incorporating fly ash were synthesised. Successful stabilisation of strontium and barium was achieved, though attributed to side reactions. The geopolymer did not contribute significantly to stabilisation of fly ash.

School and community partnerships in socially critical environmental education : research as environmental activism

Through a critical ethnography of a school and community, this study identifies and describes-in-action an approach to environmental education that supports the socially critical aspirations of many contemporary environmental education activists and examines its fate in the policy context of educational restructuring.  The study provides a critical analysis and exploration of environmental education and environmental activism within the context of social change.