Working in partnership

Reimagining Organic Waste Streams

Partners: Flow Systems, JLL, Active Research, Avac, City of Sydney

In 2018 we investigated the feasibility of using anaerobic digestion to manage organic waste streams at Sydney’s iconic One Central Park. Most waste from residential and commercial tenants is currently lost to landfill and sewers, or transported out of Sydney for processing. Researchers found that capturing and treating food waste, sewage and trade waste on-site could provide residents with renewable energy to supply up to 20 per cent of their electricity needs or 50 per cent of hot water at their apartments.

Next steps are to capture actual data of organic waste streams and identify a plan, potentially with the installation of a demonstration plant. By using this collaborative approach, leveraging research and conducting further investigations, the partners have an opportunity to provide leadership on anaerobic digestion organics management.

International Impact

Partner: SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

ISF has a long-standing partnership with not-for-profit international development organisation SNV, working together on research and learning activities across their urban sanitation, rural sanitation and rural water supply programs. We merge leading thinking with practical experience to build evidence towards effective, inclusive and sustainable service delivery and strengthened government and market systems. Our partnership currently spans three programs addressing issues like water supply, sanitation and hygiene in Nepal, Indonesia, Tanzania, Zambia, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Laos. Highlights of our partnership in 2018 included a comparative study of approaches to reaching all in rural sanitation across five countries, and participation in a global learning event on inclusive rural water supply.

Advancing Circular Economy

Partner: NSW Government

The ‘China Sword’ policy brought the waste crisis right to the doorsteps of Australians in 2018. ISF played a key role in government response to this, informing the development of a circular economy policy statement for NSW. Drawing on international best practice, our collaborative work with Ricardo went beyond recycling and the waste hierarchy to reimagine and transform how we produce, procure, and use products and services. This work directly informed the Draft NSW Circular Economy Policy that launched in October 2018 and was finalised in February 2019. ISF’s reputation as thought leaders in this space was recognised by further invitations to advise other state governments on circular economy best practice.

Improving packaging practices

Partner: Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO)

We’ve worked with APCO since 2016 to study the harmful impact of packaging on the Australian environment and provide opportunities for industry to improve their practices. Last year we released an innovative packaging sustainability framework and tool enabling companies to benchmark their performance in meeting packaging sustainability targets. They receive immediate feedback on their strengths and weaknesses and can benchmark their performance within their sector. More than 1,000 Australian businesses are using the tool, with international interest

Refokusing on Phosphorus  

Partners: Lancaster University, the Agri-Food and BioSciences Institute (Northern Ireland), the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Wallingford, the University of Leeds and the University of Technology Sydney

Phosphorus is a key nutrient required for crop and livestock production, but global reserves of phosphate rock from which fertilisers and feeds are derived are a finite resource. ISF researchers have joined international experts to undertake the first ever phosphorus vulnerability assessment of the UK’s food system and co-design a national adaptation strategy. RePhoKUs aims to re-focus phosphorus use in the UK food system in order to achieve sustainable phosphorus use and deliver valued ecosystem services such as clean water and biodiversity. This transdisciplinary research project forms part of the UK’s Global Food Security program. It is funded by the BBSRC, ESRC, NERC and the Scottish Government. The £4.9 million research project is funded by the Global Food Security’s ‘Resilience of theUK Food System Programme’ with the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Natural Environment Research Council and the Scottish Government.

Adapting to Climate Change

Partner: NSW Office of the Environment and Heritage

How can urban and rural communities best adapt and respond to climate change? What support should government provide to help promote transformational change? Over five years in collaboration with CSIRO and the NSW Office of the Environment and Heritage, the Adaptive Communities Node directly engaged approximately 2,000 people in education, awareness raising and consultation on adaptation issues for the NSW Government’s Climate Adaptation Research Hub. The research program continues to inform and influence multiple state and local government climate adaptation policies and initiatives.

Innovations in Energy

Partners: A2EP, EnergyLab and Climate-KIC Australia

ISF is a principal research partner of the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP), a not-for-profit coalition of research, business and government leaders promoting a more energy efficient and productive economy. Last year we partnered with A2EP on the Renewable Energy and Load Management m(REALM) study, working with some of Australia’s largest businesses including IKEA,Woolworths and Schneider Electric. Funded by ARENA, the feasibility study showed that simple investments in load management and existing storage options like chilled water tanks can increase the value from on-site solar power – and deliver low-cost flexibility to help energy markets and networks integrate higher levels of renewable energy.

We led the process for UTS becoming the founding NSW university member of Climate-KIC Australia, a knowledge innovation community dedicated to creating a climate resilient and thriving Australia. In 2018, Climate-KIC, WWF-Australia, ARENA and ISF launched the Business Renewables Centre Australia, a resource centre and online marketplace platform making it easier for businesses to adopt renewable energy. Already, over 7,000MW of projects listed are on the online marketplace platform, with more than 175 members. ISF has also continued to support EnergyLab, Australia’s leading platform for launching energy startups which was set up at UTS in 2017.

Water Solutions

Partner: Hunter Water

When Hunter Water shifted its purpose in 2017 to ‘enabling the life its communities desire’, it triggered a shift in our long association with them. We became a trusted partner, asking challenging questions and finding the answers together. Since then, we’ve engaged on very diverse fronts: our Three Horizons workshop fed into staff’s re-envisioning of the organisation; our resilience workshop  created a base for a new way of thinking about what matters in water planning. In 2018, our circular economy research and staff capacity building helped create an argument for a decisive shift in wastewater management, biosolids disposal and energy generation; our systems analysis of recycled water revealed significant internal barriers; and throughout, our learning development work provided the scaffolding for significant cultural change.