Environmentality 26 September 2012

Dear Environmentality Listeners,

Jaime and Smokey were joined in the studio by the wonderful Amadis Lacheta, Business Efficiency Network (BEN) Officer from the Hume City Council to talk about business and sustainability.  Amadis is also a composer and member of the Daquqi Trio, and listeners were treated to hearing this incredible music through the show.

Amadis shared details about the Business Efficiency Network (BEN).   BEN works to create partnerships between the Hume Council and businesses to reduce their operating costs and environmental impact.   They means in which this is done is through:

• Forums for businesses on industry specific topics.
• Coordinating funding initiatives support environmental impact reduction.
• Coordinating business programs that support environmental impact reduction.
• Networking opportunities.

The types of environmental programs focused on include areas such as industrial ecology, energy efficiency and renewable energy.  BEN is proving successful with between 200-500 members, regular forums and opportunities for businesses to collaborate and reduce their environmental impact.

The next upcoming event hosted by BEN includes the Sustainability in Hospitality Forum on the 27th of November at the Hume Global Centre.  BEN will also participate at the 4th Australasian Ecology Conference on the 14th-16th of November, with a theme of plastics in 2012.

Find out more about the programs of BEN here:  http://www.hume.vic.gov.au/Business_Major_Projects/Business_Networking_Training/Business_Sustainability

Environmentality is asking business owners in Hume:  What is your business doing in terms of sustainability or reducing environmental impact?  We are giving away some fantastic books about sustainability including 'The Ecology of Commerce' and others.   Tell us about the actions your business has taken towards sustainability.  Environmentality will reward the most outstanding businesses with one of these books.

As mentioned, Amadis also happens to be an accomplished pianist and composer of contemporary classical music!  Listeners were privileged to have the opportunity to listen to some of her beautiful compositions and music as part of the Daquqi trio.  The Daquqi trio comprises piano, double bass and the viola.  Tracks were played from "The Lift Equation" and a live recording of "January/The Months" from the Darebin Music Festival in 2012.  See www.daquqi.com for more details.

Finally, we have a new recruit to the Environmentality team, Sarah Schefe, and we look forward to hearing more from her over the coming weeks.   Remember you can listen to the podcast if you missed the show.

Listen to the show!