Megan Houghton's Introduction - October 2011

CitySmart dived straight into this financial year and sponsored the Asia Pacific Cities Summit. I'd like to congratulate Lord Mayor Graham Quirk on a wonderful summit that provided a stage for CitySmart to connect with interstate and international delegates and learn about what sustainability measures are being rolled out in other cities. What was evident is that EzyGreen is admired by many interstate Councils for its simple model and attractive commercial product offerings.

A few highlights from the last few months:  

• The Broncos 'lunch on the field' with special guest Lord Mayor Graham Quirk received great feedback from the guests and the host. The Lord Mayor and partners were treated to a players' clubhouse tour by Green Ambassador and Broncos Vice-Captain Corey Parker and enjoyed lunch on the field. It was a fun event and that allowed partners freedom to network. A big congrats to Corey for making the Australian Training Squad. 
• CitySmart partners lunch with special guest Deputy Lord Mayor Cr Adrian Schrinner in September at the Novotel was a great success. CitySmart partners applauded the Deputy Lord Mayor's vision for Brisbane and a number of cross partners opportunities were discussed over lunch.
• Our partnership program continues to grow with an additional three partners signing up in September. Stockland, ERM Power and Redflow have joined the program and bring potential project opportunities to the program.

Current activities include: 

• EzyGreen is going through a product refresh and we are excited about what we are about to offer to residents of the energy saving program. Without lifting the lid too much, families and pools are the targets. We are offering free powerboards to CitySmart partners and staff that agree to have CitySmart come to their workplace and have staff signup on the day. It’s an opportunity for your staff to cut their energy bills and make your workplace more sustainable.
• Over 1800 Rio Tinto staff moved into their new six star green star building in Albert St. The building is built with the latest energy saving technology and will be officially launched on 27 October with special guest Lord Mayor Graham Quirk. CitySmart looks forward to working with Rio Tinto to promote the green credentials of the building.
• The Green Heart Fair is on 16 October at Mt Gravatt. This promises to be a wonderful family fun day out with over 15,000 people expected to attend and learn about sustainability, win over $30,000 worth of prizes and watch James Reyne play as the sun dips in the afternoon. Please circulate this event to your staff and bring your families. 

Don't forget to put the annual CitySmart partners Christmas event with special guest Lord Mayor Graham Quirk into your diaries for Monday 5 December at 5:30pm on our beautiful garden terrace.

Regards

Megan Houghton

CEO, CitySmart Pty Ltd

CitySmart New Partner Activities

In the last two months, CitySmart partners enjoyed their first Broncos CitySmart event and three new high caliber partners have joined CitySmart.

The Brisbane Broncoshosted a great CitySmart partner’s event on the field at their Red Hill Clubhouse. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk mixed with CitySmart partners while enjoying an exclusive behind the scenes tour of the players clubhouse lead by Green Ambassador and Broncos Vice-captain Corey Parker. The Broncos CEO Paul White was the perfect host providing a marquee on the field and a wonderful stand up lunch. We welcome the Broncos to the fold and look forward to seeing Corey in the Green Ambassador campaign for EzyGreen that kicks off in November.

ERM Power, Stockland and Redflow have also joined CitySmart and together they bring a wealth of knowledge and a host of sustainable project opportunities.

ERM Poweris a Brisbane based integrated energy company with businesses spanning electricity sales, generation and gas procurement. It is one of the leading electricity suppliers to the business customer market in Queensland and hasa growing presence across Australia. ERM Power with assistance from CitySmart is interested in helping Brisbane become a more sustainable city through energy alternatives.

Stocklandis one of Australia’s leading residential developers and is partnering with CitySmart based on synergies between CitySmart and Stockland's sustainability values. Stockland is committed to creating sustainable communities and is a major sponsor of the Green Heart Fair on 16 October.

Redfloware leading the way in energy storage from their Seventeen Mile Rocks headquarters. National Sales manager Bruce Ebzery is keen to get their batteries into renewable energy projects across Queensland and CitySmart has identified a number of opportunities with CitySmart partners that may further reduce carbon emissions in Brisbane.

We welcome the new CitySmart partners and look forward to great partnerships and opportunities.

GREEN HEART FAIR – SUNDAY 16 OCTOBER, MT GRAVATT

SUSTAINABILITY DISPLAYS. ENTERTAINMENT. ACTIVITIES. MARKETS

FREE community event. Invite your staff. Bring the family. Bring your friends.

Put aside Sunday, 16 October 2011 and join us at the sustainability Green Heart Fair from 10am – 3pm at Mt Gravatt Showgrounds, Logan Rd, Mt Gravatt.

This free community event, organised by CitySmart on behalf of Brisbane City Council, has something for everyone.

Kids can enjoy free entertainment on the Ingenero Stage, wildlife presentations, giveaways and non-stop free activities within the Southside Honda Kids Hub including a jumping castle, rock climbing wall, garden art, marine wildlife display and face painting.

For the adults, there will be more than 40 sustainability exhibits, celebrity and MasterChefs at the Stockland Cooking Demonstrations, gourmet food stalls, entertainment on the Ingenero Stage including a concert featuring James Reyne, the Peter Hackworth Group markets and free plants.

Catch a free shuttle buses provided by Council (leaving at approximately 15 minute intervals, between 9.45am and 3.30pm), with free parking available at Garden City Shopping Centre, Mains Rd Park n’ Ride, and Klumpp Rd Park n’ Ride.

At the same time, come and learn simple and practical tips to save money in and around your home while reducing your environmental impact.

When: Sunday 16 October

Where: Mt Gravatt Showgrounds, Logan Road, Mt Gravatt

Time: 10am - 3pm

Entry cost:  Free!

Attractions include:

• FREE eventfor the whole family
• FREE entertainment including a James Reyne concert on the Ingenero Stage
• Sustainable-living exhibits, presentations and workshops
• Southside Honda Kids Hub with free children's entertainmentand activities including a ‘paint a car’ activity, jumping castle, rock climbing wall, reptile show, , face painting and more
• Free native plants* at 10:40a.m. provided by Brisbane City Council
• Stockland Cooking Demonstrationswith MasterChef contestant Ellie Paxton-Hall , Junior MasterChef twins, Isabella and Sofia Bliss and celebrity chef Ben O'Donoghue
• Broncosfootball workshop
• Games, competitions and activities with Nova’s Street Team
• Meet Channel 10 personalities
• Gourmet food stalls and the Peter Hackworth Group’s markets
• More than $30,000 in prizes and giveaways

*while stocks last

We look forward to seeing you there!

Brisbane City Council’s Green Heart Fair is proudly supported by Southside Honda, Ingenero, Stockland, Channel 10, Nova 106.9FM and Quest Community Newspapers.

Energy saving CitySmart staff presentations

CitySmart is available to come to CitySmart partners' workplaces and offer FREE energy saving powerboards to staff who sign up to our flagship sustainability program EzyGreen.

Recently, CitySmart held a Sustainability event at RACQ Insurance's Eight Mile Plains headquarters and gave away over 125 energy efficient powerboards valued at over $100 each to staff. The Sustainability event offered specialised sustainability advice from a range of CitySmart partners, including Energex who offered network advice and information on off-peak programs and rebates, Energy Assist provided solar hot water advice and Ingenero offered solar PV advice and information on its PV solutions.

RACQ Insurance’s Environment Committee ensured that over 200 staff participated in the free event.

"The Mini Green Heart Fair for RACQ Insurance staff was a great initiative. The RACQ Insurance Environment Committee is always looking for ways to encourage staff to be more environmentally aware and to consider our day to day impacts on the environment. The event helped us to highlight some of the simple ways we can all contribute to being a more sustainable city and the power board giveaways were an excellent incentive to encourage staff to sign up to the EzyGreen program."Leonie Challacombe Manager Communications RACQ Insurance.

Following the success of the RACQ Insurance event CitySmart would like to offer the EzyGreen energy saving  powerboards exclusively to CitySmart partners and their staff.  Staff must sign up to EzyGreen on the day in get their free powerboard. EzyGreen benefits include:

• Free powerboard
• Retail vouchers for white goods and energy efficient appliances
• Solar PV discounts
• Solar hot water discounts

The sustainability forum is a great way to get staff engaged and thinking about sustainability. A variety of CitySmart partners can come along and offer free advice about sustainable products and services with no obligation or pushy sales techniques. We are there to inform only.

If you would like to have CitySmart discuss a Sustainability Event with you, please contact Graham Witherspoon on 3040 3427 or email: graham.witherspoon@citysmart.com.au. 

Jim Poss - Eliminating the Waste in Waste Collection - An invitation

 CitySmart is proud to offer you an exclusive morning tea with one of America's most respected environmental entrepreneurs. Jim Poss , Founder and Chief Technology Officer of BigBelly Solar, will give an engaging presentation for CitySmart during a morning tea at the Brisbane Novotel on Wednesday 19 October at 10am on Eliminating the Waste in Waste Collection.

Jim will discuss how he reduced the waste of America's fifth largest city, Philadelphia, by 83% through compaction and wireless communication. Can we learn from Jim and do the same here?

Jim has been recognised as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and as one of Business Week Magazine’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs. BigBelly Solar is a global leader in providing sustainable waste collection solutions, with satisfied customers across the United States and 30+ other countries. www.BigBellysolar.com

You are invited to attend Eliminating the Waste in Waste Collection at the Murray Room Brisbane Novotel on Wednesday 19 October from 10am to 11am. Please rsvp to admin@citysmart.com.au and secure your place at this exciting event.

BigBelly Solar provides customer benefits in two core areas – cost efficiency in delivering required waste collection services and development of more environmentally sustainable practices. Cost efficiencies are created by attacking unnecessary and wasted effort in the collection process. The dual-pronged solution marries on-site compaction of rubbish with on-demand real-time and historical information about the fullness and collection status of rubbish bins allowing for better planning, route optimization and asset management. The result is a process that is optimised to deliver comparable service levels at dramatically lower process cost by reducing unnecessary collection.

Places are limited for this free event, so please rsvp to admin@citysmart.com.au and secure your place now.