Mining and sustainability: Asking the right questions

Attempts to pursue sustainability in the minerals sector have largely focused on reducing impacts at mining and processing sites. The Mineral Resources Landscape (Cooper and Giurco, 2011), offers an expanded conceptualisation of minerals sustainability, spanning production, consumption and recycling and connecting social, ecological, technological, economic and governance domains, across local and global scales. By mapping issues and impacts, the Minerals Resources Landscape makes explicit the disconnect between externalised impacts and the potential leverage points where they can be addressed. This paper applies the Mineral Resources Landscape to map stakeholder concerns for the case of deep sea mining in Australia. It found that in exploring the future use of this technology to meet growing resource demand, the potential role of dematerialisation and recycling were overlooked. The paper concludes with reflections on the usefulness of the approach for citizens, companies and governments. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

UTS Environmental Sustainability Initiative: Case Study

Implementing environmental sustainability programs across university campuses presents both opportunities and challenges. The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) launched a coordinated approach to sustainability in 2008. This paper presents a case study of UTS’s Environmental Sustainability Initiative (ESI). It begins by outlining the aims and governance structures for the initiative which consists of a Sustainability Steering Committee; Committee of Working Group Heads and then working groups across six focus areas of energy, transport, procurement, water, waste, planning and design, and also reporting and communications. The paper then describes the development and consultation processes, and final outcomes, for three strategy documents in the areas of climate change (energy), transport and paper use (procurement). We discuss the role that such working groups, together with other support structures, can play in creating a more sustainable university, and offer practical guidance for other universities and organisations undergoing organisational change for sustainability. We also discuss some of the challenges that emerged such as: how to engage with staff and students to develop shared aspirations and reflect these in tangible objectives, targets and actions; and how to evolve organisational structures to implement strategies and create a sustainable higher education institution

The mineral resources landscape - an expanded conceptualisation of minerals sustainability

As part of global systems of mineral production and consumption, the Australian minerals sector is facing sustainability challenges across technological, social, ecological, economic and governance domains, as well as between local, national and global scales. To ensure that the Australian minerals sector progresses towards sustainability, it is imperative to understand the possible ways in which Australias mineral resources could support sustainable futures. A significant research gap exists between the complex nature of questions concerning minerals sustainability and the reductionist methods available to deal with them. This paper argues the need for broader, more integrated approaches to questions concerning minerals sustainability, which can address multiple human perspectives, complex and `messy patterns and processes across multiple organisational, temporal and geographical scales and whole systems of mineral production and consumption

Industrial ecology and carbon property rights

This paper examines the potential for property rights in carbon to affect industrial ecology opportunities. Given that emissions trading schemes for greenhouse gases are becoming more widely implemented, the definition of the carbon property right can affect barriers and opportunities for industrial ecology, alongside other factors. The paper uses legislation for emissions trading in Australia and two possible scenarios for the future of energy generation in the Latrobe Valley, Australia in 2050 as an illustrative case study to identify issues for industrial ecology arising from ill-defined carbon property rights. Currently, electricity generation in the region is reliant on coal-based generators. Scenario one focuses on bio-industries and renewables with no coal usage; and scenario two focuses on electricity from coal with carbon capture and storage resulting in moderate to high coal use. If a carbon property right for soil carbon emerges before a property right for subterranean carbon, then bio-based industrial ecology opportunities could be enabled ahead of a regional symbiosis involving carbon capture and storage. A generalised framework for considering the intersection of industrial ecology and carbon property rights is presented with a focus on tensions in: contributing to sustainable development, system boundaries and finally exchange mechanisms. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Advancing household water-use feedback to inform customer behaviour for sustainable urban water

© IWA Publishing 2017. Sustainable water management is increasingly essential in an age characterised by rapid population growth, urban and industrial development and climate change. Opportunities to promote conservation and water-use efficiencies remain attractive in directly reducing water demand. Smart water metering and the provision of detailed water-use feedback to consumers present exciting new opportunities for improved urban water management. This paper explores two smart water metering trials in New South Wales, Australia, which provided household water consumption feedback via (i) paper end-use reports and (ii) an online portal. This combination enabled a deeper exploration of the various impacts of detailed feedback enabled via smart water metering. The positive effects uncovered by the research present an important opportunity for smart water metering feedback to contribute towards more sustainable urban water management. Their summary contributes empirical evidence on the impacts for water utilities considering embarking on the smart water metering journey with their customers. The identification of future research and policy needs sets an agenda for smart water metering to promote a sustainable digital urban water future. Larger-scale trials are now required and utilities should integrate the design and plans for scalable advanced feedback programs at the outset of smart meter implementations

Urban water conservation through customised water and end-use information

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Water conservation in urban centres is an ongoing challenge in which new technologies can play an important role. Smart water metering in conjunction with end-use analysis enables the collection of more detailed information on household water consumption than was previously possible. This presents a new and currently underexplored opportunity to promote more efficient water use via the provision of detailed customised water-use information to householders. Among the variety of possible approaches, is the option of paper-based reports containing a highly detailed 'snapshot' of household water use. This paper describes a mixed methods study in which customised paper-based 'Home Water Updates' were provided to a group of households in Australia to explore the idea of providing detailed feedback, including detailed end-use consumption information on uses of water within the home. The methods used within this research are described in detail to disseminate experience in this relatively new area of research. Analysis of the post-intervention householder evaluation survey showed the provision of detailed water-use information via the Home Water Updates appealed to the vast majority of householders; and further resulted in changed behaviours (e.g. shorter showers and full washing machine loads) and installations of new infrastructure. These research findings suggest a role for customised household water and end-use information via smart metering. However, more work is required to optimise approaches to enable a significant contribution towards more sustainable urban water management

Future Latrobe Valley scenarios for a carbon-constrained world: industrial ecology, environmental impacts and property rights

The Latrobe Valley has substantial brown coal deposits which are currently mined for use in coal-fired power stations which supply 85% of Victoriaâs electricity. This paper considers the role that industrial ecology could play in underpinning the future structure (2050-2100) of the Latrobe valley industry base in a carbon-constrained world. Potential future scenarios for industry clusters were developed around three themes: bio-industries and renewables (no coal usage); electricity from coal with carbon capture and storage (low to high coal use options exist within this scenario); coal to products (e.g. hydrogen, ammonia, diesel, methanol, plastics, char with medium to high overall coal use relative to current levels). This research uses life cycle thinking to characterise the potential water, greenhouse gas and property rights impacts across life cycle stages

Australian Life Cycle Initiative (AusLCI) & CSRP database: Australian data

The Australian Life Cycle Initiative (AusLCI) is being developed by CSIRO and the Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (ALCAS). Its aim is to: "provide a national, publicly-accessible database with easy access to authoritative, comprehensive and transparent environmental information on a wide range of Australian products and services over their entire life cycle". In parallel, CSRP researchers are working to develop a database of readily accessible information for exchange between CSRP participants to assist with decision making for sustainability. The aim of this extended abstract is to provide an overview of activities being undertaken by AusLCI and, in particular, the "metals" working group within AusLCI describe the progress of a CSRP database and how this relates to AusLCI outline benefits of the CSRP database and AusLCI initiative and future research needs