TGL News: Cycling for youth homelessness, new waste guidance for the construction industry and an international merger

This Friday 20 September, nine members of the Built. Sydney team will be cycling through the Scheyville National Park to raise awareness and funds for issues surrounding youth homelessness. The event is called the Tour de PIF and is being organised by the Property Industry Foundation. So far the Built. team has helped PIF raise $17,228.70 of its $30,000 goal with two days to go. Head to the website to find out more or donate.

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The international arm of sustainability consultancy and product stewardship Greenlister thinkstep has been acquired by the Chicago based risk management software and information service provider Sphera. Announced in July and finalised this week, thinkstep’s chief executive officer Jan Poulsen says the merger was a natural fit.

“We are very excited to be joining the Sphera family,” he said. “Adding our solutions, extensive databases and expertise to Sphera… we can’t wait to get started collaborating together.”

Given the approval of the German regulatory authorities, Sphera’s president Paul Marushka says the acquisition will advance Sphera’s strategy and expand its existing network of 3000 international customers to include thinkstep’s more than 8000 clients.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has published two new documents offering guidance to the construction and demolition industry. The documents – Construction and demolition waste: a management toolkit, and Owner’s guide to lawful disposal of construction and demolition waste – aim to strengthen waste disposal practices for the industry by addressing procurement and contract processes.

The EPA hopes the documents will help the industry “avoid engaging rogue waste operators” by offering tips and step-by-step guides for improving practices.

Energetics has released a report suggesting Australia will miss emission reduction targets and suffer international reputation loss by maintaining business as usual. The report, which looks at a number of the country’s major emissions generating sectors, found that decarbonising the energy sector alone would not be enough to reduce emissions in the coming decades…

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Greenlister Republic of Everyone has designed a very cheeky campaign that we think will be highly successful. It’s on behalf of delivery service Sendle, which offsets its carbon emissions to encourage  Australia’s national postal service to commit to a clear decarbonising plan.

The government owned AusPost did recently announced intentions to introduce carbon neutral delivery for certain products, but Sendle says this is not enough. 

“As the climate crisis intensifies, we are running out of time for promises,” James Chin Moody, co-founder and chief executive of Sendle said. “We need immediate action and going 100 per cent carbon neutral is a simple way to take responsibility today for one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time.”

To get the ball rolling, Sendle has committed to offsetting all parcels sent domestically by Australia Post on Friday 20 September – “in support of the global climate strikes”. It has also released a limited edition sticker range picturing native fauna wearing gas masks to elicit the “true impact of ecommerce delivery on the Earth”.