Making cities better: voluntary programs aren’t enough

Originally posted on: https://theconversation.com/making-cities-better-voluntary-programs-arent-enough-35535 Voluntary programs are all the rage. From ratcheting up cybersecurity to fighting obesity, firms in the United States and elsewhere voluntarily make pledges to do better than governmental regulation. Firms are rewarded for doing so. Governments may stall the introduction of mandatory regulation, clients may be more inclined to buy their goods, and investors...

Urban sustainability: Australian cities are leading the world … for now

Originally posted on: https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/australian-cities-please-keep-leading-the-world-in-governance-for-urban-sustainability-and-resilience,7199   Cities hold a significant potential to make a rapid change toward reduced resource consumption and waste production, greenhouse gasses included. Yet, an ongoing reliance on traditional building codes will however not result in the change needed. Innovative governance tools hold more potential. My new book highlights that Australian cities may lead the...

Benchmarking building environmental performance: What can we learn from LEED?

    In my last post I questioned whether Green Star has caused the green building revolution the GBCA claims it has. I conclude that the ‘revolution’ is very much contained to the high-end of the office market in Australia’s central business districts. In this contribution I will look at Green Star’s big sister in the...