Adelaide Cleantech Network - Grants & Investment Seminar

The First Adelaide Cleantech Network Seminar was held on Tuesday 2 September 2008 at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide

The high level seminar was organised by the Adelaide Cleantech Network, the only organisation of its kind in Australia. The conference brought together representatives of business, finance, government and academia and promoted collaboration across these groups to stimulate the growth of cleantech companies.

Commenting on the event, John O’Brien, Managing Director of Australian CleanTech said that Australia will adapt quickly to a future of low emissions and resource constraints by providing an environment for new companies and technologies to flourish. “Maintaining and protecting existing industries is important in the short term, but it does not result in a leadership position in the long run,” he said.

“Adelaide is leading the way in demonstrating how the collaboration between business, finance, government and academia can produce sustainable companies providing investment returns and economic development.”

The first session of the seminar focussed on State and Federal Government grants and incentives available to cleantech companies. This included one of the few good news stories from the closure of Mitsubishi’s Tonsely Park plant. The Federal and State Governments have jointly launched the South Australian Innovation and Investment Fund which will provide up to $30m for investment in new manufacturing ventures. Another grant that was discussed was the Federal Government’s Climate Ready Grant that will provide up to $5m of matched funding to successful applicants.

Show casing a successful case study, Anthony Kittel, the Managing Director of Lonsdale-based REDARC talked about his company’s success in securing a multi-million dollar grant that has enabled it to expand its operations.

The second session of the PricewaterhouseCoopers event turned the focus from companies to investors. It started with an overview of the Rudd Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme along with the current state of lobbying by ‘big business’ looking to protect and forward their interests. Other topics included an overview of picking stock market winners and losers for a carbon constrained world and the investment strategy of South African bank, Investec, to make money from cleantech.

In the last session of the morning, Fiona Waterhouse from the Australian Cleantech Marketplace explained the new ways Australian investors can access environmentally friendly investments. Included was a commentary on the world-first Sustainable Investment Market, the Sydney based stock exchange that will only list cleantech companies.

Cleantech investment differs from ‘socially responsible investments’ and their ilk, focusing only on companies whose output positively enhances communities and ecologies. “It is about doing ‘more good’ rather than ‘less bad’,” Mr O’Brien explained.

To round off the day IBM Australia’s Malcolm Mackey explained how IT is the enabler of both the technologies and investment returns associated with cleantech.

Australian CleanTech has estimated that, if the Australian growth matches the global forecasts, annual revenue for the Australian cleantech sector could exceed $40Bn within the next 10 years.

“Successful cleantech investments are about looking at future trends and understanding which technologies will achieve both economic and sustainable development,” Mr O’Brien said.

“The drivers behind cleantech are much more than just climate change. Increasing wealth, increasing populations and decreasing natural resources require the world to adapt to cleaner technologies,” he added.

Mr O’Brien concluded by dismissing what some commentators have coined as a ‘green bubble’, similar to the IT bubble of the turn of the century. “With many real assets being constructed and global demand for its products and services increasing, the cleantech revolution is here to stay.”

“Finally we have a solution to the dichotomy between good returns and positive environmental investments. We now have a way to make money and save the world.”

EMAIL acn@auscleantech.com.au FOR INFORMATION ON FUTURE EVENTS

The Cleantech Cure for Climate Fatigue

A new challenge for those fighting the effects of climate change is on the horizon - ‘climate fatigue’. Each day the public is bombarded with terrifying prognoses for the future that they and their forebears have created.

Many people are understandably confused about the possible effects of climate change and feel an inability to make any meaningful difference. They sense a lack of control and eventually fear will give way to resigned boredom and the distractions of more immediate and local issues. So, ironically, as media exposure on the issue of climate change increases so too does the danger of climate fatigue.

Yet it is essential that individuals and their communities do stay motivated and engaged with the solutions to climate change – it is not enough simply to rely upon scientists and politicians to alleviate the consequences. Cleantech provides the solutions that will deliver both global and local benefits and ensure the community engagement is maintained.

“Climate fatigue” may be compared with the well documented phenomenon of famine fatigue. As news of ever more famines continue however, the length and depth of compassionate feelings reduces until there is tendency to accept famines as unavoidable.

Famine fatigue or, more generally, compassion fatigue occurs fastest when the suffering is far removed. Climate fatigue is no different, as shown by Putin’s retort that Russians are unlikely to suffer from a slight rise in temperature, and the effects of climate change are often seen as a problem belonging to the distant future and far flung places of the world. However, recent Australian weather conditions – both floods and droughts – have focussed many Australians on the immediacy and relevancy of the problems created by climate change. Extreme weather patterns elsewhere, such as the US and parts of Europe, have had the same effect. Enthusiasm for change is high, both here and abroad, and fatigue has yet to set in.

To harness this enthusiasm and secure its benefits requires two aspects: firstly, local benefits must be visible to communities so that the benefits of change are clear; and secondly, networks and forums must be established to facilitate new connections and enable new collaborations. This is where cleantech comes in.

Focusing on local benefits whilst also delivering part of a national or international solution is not easy. It requires collaboration and understanding between business, investors, academia, all three tiers of government and most importantly the general public. Providing a forum to have these conversations is a vital first step to delivering the greatest benefits from changes that are going to be required as a result of climate change.

One example of this first step is the recently formed Adelaide Cleantech Network. This brings together all of the disparate groups and enables discussions to start on wider more ambitious solutions.

By changing the story from one of worry to one of opportunity, cleantech alters the whole dynamic of climate change. It is a twist on the concept “think global - act local” which has historically been seen as taking local detrimental actions to achieve global benefits. Instead this is thinking about worrying global events and turning them into an excuse to deliver local benefits.

By focussing on how cleantech solutions can deliver local, as well as global, benefits and by starting new conversations and collaborative relationships, we have the opportunity to make climate change seen as the great motivator to a better world.

This is an extract of the full article that was first published Environmental Management News. For a full version of the article please email info@auscleantech.com.au