Greenfest Means Business on World Environment Day
Released 3 June 2009
Greenfest Means Business on World Environment Day
Australia’s fastest growing festival has sold out and is now selling space for 2010 in a time when most business is trending down.
In addition to demonstrating that growth is green, Greenfest is profiling business and government initiatives in a big top called the Converga Green Economy Hub on World Environment Day with:
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A workshop on the CPRS with Martijn Wilder, Debby Cox and chaired by Ken Hickson who is about to release his book “The ABC of Carbon”
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Announcement of Brisbane City Council’s, CitySmart plans to make Brisbane Australia’s most sustainable city.
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Announcement of the Queensland State Governments implementation plans for Ecofund by Angus MacDonald
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Announcement of the Green Infrastructure Council of Australia’s plans by David Hood
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Ideas around improved systematic change by Richard Saunders
Presentation of interviews in video conducted and by Nick Hart Williams (Be the change.org) over 20 years since his iconic films Prophets and Loss and Greenbucks.
An interactive test of green leadership in a session called “So you think you can Blog” hosted by Graham Readfearn, Courier Mail Green Blog.
Brisbane City Council is the festival’s principal sponsor under its Green Heart CitySmart program. Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the green economy was taking shape across the world, thanks to the determination and innovation of scientists and entrepreneurs.
“Council has a vision for Brisbane to be Australia’s most sustainable city and we’re undertaking one of the city’s biggest environmental campaigns,” the Lord Mayor said.
“This makes our city an exciting place for inventors. Greenfest will be a fantastic showcase for businesses to introduce to people ways they can save money, energy and water in all areas of their lives.”
The festival begins on World Environment Day (Friday 5 June 2009), a United Nations World Environment Day event. Director Achim Steiner said that leaders around the world recognise the unprecedented alignment of economic and environmental opportunity.
“Greenfest is a timely and important initiative for our planet. We can stimulate the global economy and win the race against climate change with the same investment directed to developing a greener economy,” he said.
Greenfest provides a unique marketplace – the Converga Green Economy Hub – where more than 50 grassroots inventors and innovators will promote new ideas and inventions to government, media, organisations, business, the community and investors.
Mr Martijn Wilder, head of Baker and McKenzie’s Global Climate Change and Emissions Trading Practice; David Hood, Chair of the Australian Green Infrastructure Council, and corporate social responsibility advocate Anne-Maree Huxley, CEO of Models of Success and Sustainability, to name a few, will present informative ‘green’ business visions.
Festival goers are encouraged to embrace fresh intellectual capital for a better world and a new source of profit and growth. Festival founder Colman Ridge said “the same ideas that will cool the planet will also drive the next wave of profit and growth, we are in a challenging time that also presents unprecedented opportunity to win on both conservation and economic fronts simultaneously.”
Greenfest is a carbon neutral event that chooses the new Queensland Government Ecofund services as it’s partner for being carbon neutral.
Queensland’s Minister of Climate Change, Kate Jones will speak at Greenfest at 10am on Saturday – dedicated as Green Queensland Day – on the ClimateSmart Home Service Stage.
People coming to Greenfest are encouraged to ‘lose the car’ and travel by bus, train or bicycle.
WHAT: Greenfest – Community Warmth Can Cool the Planet
Presented by Brisbane City Council under its Green Heart CitySmart initiative
WHERE: City Botanic Gardens, Alice St, Brisbane
WHEN: Friday 5 June 12noon to 10pm (World Environment Day)
Saturday 6 June 10am to 10pm (Queensland Day)
Sunday 7 June 10am to 5pm
www.greenheartcitysmart.com.au
Ends
Media Enquries:
Tiffanie Ng
Public Relations Manager