environment
Federal Government just “reshuffling the deck cards” on grant funding?
Amidst the heated rhetoric over taxes and the best way to achieve a surplus, one area of the budget may be getting overlooked: grants. According to one agency, “the budget seems to be a reshuffling exercise aimed at incurring no additional expense. Even programs cut last budget are counted as savings again, without much to replace them.”
One hundred days in, Ted Baillieu assesses the challenges ahead for Victoria [Interview]
In this extended podcast, Garry and Leon talk with Victoria Premier Ted Baillieu about the challenges facing his government – not least of which are the clean-up of the Victorian floods, the cut in GST funding from the Federal Government, and the delay to the regional rail project, issues he describes as “black holes” left by his predecessors. He also cites his pledge to the environment and creative measures to boost the state’s sagging productivity.
Global Hub network pops up in Melbourne. “Would you like a connection with that?”
There may be a conspicuous ‘Me’ in the word Melbourne, but a new global movement has taken root in the city’s business district to encourage teamwork in dynamic spaces. Collaborative consumption is the name of the movement. You may have heard of it: The Financial Times has deemed it a “social revolution gaining momentum.” Hub Melbourne is its latest achievement.
World leading environmental innovation developed by Australian company
If keeping tabs on the comings and goings of the weed-control world is your thing, then have we got news for you. Queensland-based vegetation and natural areas management company, Technigro, has developed a weed-control sprayer that corrals potentially dangerous chemicals in the area they were applied – not the atmosphere — rendering the spray-and-pray approach *so* last season.
Jarrod Ritchie of TPI Enterprises brings the healing power of Tasmania’s poppies to the world
This week’s guest is Jarrod Ritchie, founder and chief executive of Tasmania-based TPI Enterprises, one of the worlds largest independent producers of legal opiate drugs. Having previously worked for GlaxoSmithKline, he has developed his own extraction process using an environmentally friendly water-based system whereas competitors use an older method employing chemical solvents. Mr. Ritchie has also been involved with Israeli botanists in developing a new strain of a more productive opium poppy.
Inshore, offshore… which shore? Have you heard of in-sourcing and near-shoring?
Over the past fifteen years, outsourcing has been an increasingly common practice allowing businesses to reduce costs and therefore pour resources into growth. However, with the upheaval of the last eighteen months, business as usual has seen its foundations shaken and reshaped. Is outsourcing still the best option, or should businesses be trying to claim more of the value chain for themselves? Should they still be offshoring, or will nearshoring bring greater profits in the future?
Shareholders want environmental sustainability, but are the Boards listening?
Over one hundred climate and energy-focused shareholder proposals have been put before shareholders of 88 U.S. and Canadian companies in 2010. Interestingly, this phenomenon has yet to rise to the top of shareholder concerns in Australia. 2011 would be a good year to change this.
Seven ways to reduce overheads (because money doesn’t grow on trees, you know)
Remember when your parents said, “Money doesn’t grow on trees” or “A penny saved is a penny earned”? Employees and business owners need to re-visit these old truisms. Carelessness, complacency and failing to ask the right questions of staff and customers has resulted in Australian companies paying dearly in both time and money, according to Catherine DeVrye.
How to get the clothes off your employees
What happens when a clothing swap takes up shop in your company’s break room? The Clothing Exchange, a five-year-old Melbourne-based company, is selling the idea by promoting swaps in corporate environments. And while the concept itself may not be revolutionary, it could give employees a creative outlet for expanding their fashion and social consciences.
Risk analysis applied to climate change [VIDEO]
At Anthill, we often write about future-proofing as one of those ‘essentials’ of business. In this video, Greg Craven talks about risk. But his agenda is far greater than merely improving a company’s bottom line. Rather, he tackles a debate with potentially far greater consequences.
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