Speaking last night to the Law Society of NSW on the first anniversary of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), the Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,  Mr Rod Sims, issued a warning to businesses. According to Mr Sims, ensuring that businesses do not engage in misleading and deceptive conduct “goes to the heart of a market economy where consumers can make more informed choices.” “Too many businesses still have a long way to go before they meet legal and public... ...Read more »

Queensland horticulture body Growcom, says it intends to assess opportunities for Australian fruit and vegetable growers to generate credits under the Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) scheme. The scheme allows landowners to generate carbon credits, and ultimately income streams, by conducting projects that reduce emissions or sequester carbon in the environment. Growcom’s David Putland said the scheme involved around a set of ‘approved methodologies’ that determined... ...Read more »

Australia is presently suffering a severe shortage of CO2 required for soft drinks to bubble. Ironically, the Australian Federal government recently passing a law to impose a carbon tax (still to come into effect) and this law aims to discourage production of carbon dioxide (CO2). In actual fact, the current shortage is  a consequence of necessary State government protective measures responding to non-comformances with environmental safety laws  by an upstream supplier to the CO2 plant.The temporary... ...Read more »

Researchers from the State of Victoria’s Department of Primary Industries (DPI) have discovered an eco-friendly way to use the by-products of winemaking to improve the quality and quantity of milk production. Scientists at the DPI’s Centre for Dairy Excellence, at Ellinbank, found that supplementing the cows’ feed with the stems, seeds and skins from wine grapes reduced their emissions by 20 per cent, increased milk production by five per cent and increased the healthy fatty acids in their... ...Read more »

Tesco Lotus has opened Asia’s the first of its “zero-carbon” supermarket Asia, as part of its commitment to be a zero carbon business by 2050. Tesco Lotus is a major supermarket chain in Thailand, Cambodia and China. In Thailand, the stores are operated by the Ek-Chai Distribution System Co. According to Tesco Lotus, the new store in Bang Pra, Thailand, will put back into the Thai National Grid as much energy as it uses over the course of a year. Renewable fuel is converted into energy... ...Read more »

The Australian Government has today announced the first round of its A$99 million ‘Action on the Ground’ program to support farmers as they adjust to Australia’s new carbon tax regime. Action on the Ground is funding farmers over the next six years to trial and demonstrate on-farm practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitrous oxide or increase soil carbon. The program is a part of the Carbon Farming Futures Fund under the government’s A$1.7 billion Land Sector... ...Read more »

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched a guide for Australian businesses on attributing price increases or impacts to the carbon price cost. Discussing the ACCC’s role in policing claims attributing price rises to the carbon pricing mechanism, ACCC chairman Rod Sims said today that the new guide aims to assist businesses in understanding their rights and obligations. He said, “Business costs increase all the time, and businesses are free to set their own prices. ... ...Read more »

The Australian Government will provide pig farmers with the opportunity to earn carbon credits for burning their pig manure, if proposed new legislation is approved under the government’s new Carbon Farming Initiative. The Federal Government has established the Carbon Farming Initiative to develop carbon offsetting methodologies so Australia’s farmers can receive credits for reducing their carbon output. Under the Federal Government’s ‘Methodology for the Destruction of Methane Generated... ...Read more »

Research released today by the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) predicts that, under the Federal Government’s carbon tax, Australian food manufacturers’ operating profits will fall by an average of 4.4 per cent in 2012-13. The carbon price of A$23 per tonne will be a “real hit” to profits for Australia’s largest manufacturing sector, according to the AFGC. Global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney undertook the research. It claims that losses in profitability could reach... ...Read more »

The Australian Government claims that Australia has pushed to the forefront of the environmental movement this week by passing the historically momentous Clean Energy Bill, popularly dubbed the “carbon tax”. The Australian Labour Party government, in alliance with the Greens and Independents, mustered the numbers to pass the legislation through the lower house of Federal Parliament. The Australian Labor Party won the vote on the 18 carbon tax bills 74 to 72. The Clean Energy Bill will... ...Read more »