Infoblaze Australia

ACCC proposes to authorise major supermarkets to continue cooperation on soft #PlasticsRecycling The ACCC is proposing to grant authorisation with conditions to the major supermarkets Coles Group, Woolworths Group and ALDI Stores, to continue their collaboration to recycle stockpiled soft plastics and continue with the pilot in-store collection program until 31 July 2026.The ACCC is currently seeking feedback on this proposed further authorisation.The ACCC first authorised this collaboration on 30 June 2023, following the collapse of REDcycle, which operated a soft plastics collection and recycling program. In July 2024, the ACCC granted interim authorisation that allowed the supermarkets to continue to collaborate through the Soft Plastics Taskforce as the previously authorised conduct was due to expire.... https://bit.ly/4gDZq5N ACCC #Australia #Business #Retail #ClimateAction

Chief Executive Women (CEW) is delighted to announce the two recipients of the 2024 ANZ Woman Leader in Sustainability Scholarship: Madeline Greer and Sarah Cook.   Offered in partnership with ANZ, the scholarship is awarded to exceptional women working in environmental sustainability, corporate sustainability, or sustainable finance, supporting their advancement into more influential roles to lead and accelerate sustainable outcomes.   Madeline has over a decade of experience in sustainability and social impact gained across diverse industries, including #infrastructure, #agriculture, #mining, #finance, and professional services. In her current role as Principal Designer - Community Experience at Hireup, a leading NDIS-registered online disability services provider, she is responsible for shaping strategic programs that drive community engagement, enhance service quality, and improve quality of life for people with disability across Australia. Madeline will use her scholarship to attend the Oxford Impact Measurement Program at the University of Oxford.   “This scholarship is a unique opportunity to improve my leadership capabilities, and deepen my technical expertise in social impact measurement. I’m excited to use these skills to drive meaningful, sustainable change and support other female leaders.”   Sarah, the Chief Commercial and Operations Officer at Samsara Eco, will study the Sustainability & Circular Economy course at Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. A passionate advocate for improving the circularity of plastic, Sarah was integrally involved in the transition to recycled PET in Australia and was a Board member of Circular Plastics Australia (CPAP), an industry partnership to build mechanical #recycling facilities with the ability to recycle over 2 billion plastic bottles per annum.     Having transitioned from corporate into scale up 18 months ago with Samsara Eco, Sarah is expanding her impact on the circular economy through scaling of an innovative plastic recycling technology with application capability across multiple industries and #plastics.   "There is so much opportunity for continued improvement in circular actions across organisations and I am fortunate to be in a position to influence this change. I recognised this sponsorship would provide me the opportunity to further develop my understanding of the critical aspects of global supply chains across industries and bring a greater understanding to the challenges organisations face when implementing circularity. Working in a start-up environment, the additional support for development is invaluable.”   Congratulations Madeline and Sarah!

New report ranks Australian telco customer complaint performance The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released a first-of-its-kind telco customer complaints handling report, outlining the performance of the 34 largest telcos operating in Australia against three key complaint handling metrics. For the number of complaints received per 10,000 services in operation, Vonex received the least complaints, while Westnet received the most. Of the largest telcos, Telstra ranked 19th while Optus ranked 25th out of the 34 telcos..... https://bit.ly/4gGInjC Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) #Australia #Telecom

ASIC sues #HSBC Australia alleging failures to adequately protect customers from scams HSBC Bank Australia Limited (HSBC Australia) failed to adequately protect customers scammed out of millions of dollars, according to documents filed by ASIC in the Federal Court today. ASIC alleges HSBC Australia failed to have adequate controls in place to prevent and detect unauthorised payments and failed to comply with its obligations to investigate customer reports of unauthorised transactions within the specified timeframes required, and to promptly reinstate their banking services in a timely manner..... https://bit.ly/41F3uhQ #Australia #Banking #Scam Via asic.gov.au

#Kraken #CryptoExchange operator to pay $8 million following ASIC enforcement action Legal proceedings launched by ASIC have seen the Australian operator of the Kraken crypto exchange ordered to pay $8 million for unlawfully issuing a credit facility to more than 1100 Australian customers.From October 2021, Bit Trade Pty Ltd, which operated the Kraken exchange, had offered its customers a ‘margin extension’ product without a target market determination (TMD). The product provided for margin extensions to be made and repaid in either digital assets like bitcoin or national currencies such as US dollars.In August this year, the Federal Court found that Bit Trade’s product was a credit facility and required a TMD as the product offered margin extensions in national currencies. As a result, the company breached its design and distribution obligations (DDO) each time it offered the margin extension product to a customer without the required TMD.ASIC Chair Joe Longo said, ‘Target market determinations are fundamental in ensuring that investors are not inappropriately marketed products that could harm them.... https://bit.ly/3VEHLD4 #BitTrade ASIC #Australia #Business #Crypto #Finance

How we watch and listen to content How we watch and listen to content report, which is part of our Media and communications in Australia series. published by ACMA. How we watch and listen to content We continue to see shifts in viewership away from traditional linear TV services to subscription services, with more Australians watching paid streaming services in 2024. For the first time since 2017, less than half of Australians watched free-to-air (FTA) TV (excluding catch-up TV), and almost as many watched FTA streaming services. If this trend continues, watching FTA streaming may overtake watching FTA TV (excluding catch-up) in the coming years. There has been growth in viewership of services used to watch online video content, and we are watching content across more services. YouTube remains the number one service used for video content (paid or free) and stays at number 1 – with over half of Australians now watching content on YouTube..... https://bit.ly/4fekxup Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) #Australia #Media #Communication #Content

There’s a transformation underway for sugarcane in Australia. It is the quintessential Queensland crop, steeped in the Australian psyche and economy through popular culture and more than 150 years of cultivation. But before too long, sugar may not be its primary output. In a world increasingly looking to alternatives to fossil fuel, the use of sugarcane in the production of biofuel is growing. But beyond this, scientists are also unlocking the potential for sugarcane as a 100 per cent recyclable bioplastic – a substitute for petroleum in the production of countless items from cosmetics to carpets to car parts. “It’s about reinventing sugarcane as a crop with a wider range of end uses,” says Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) director Robert Henry, who as Professor of Reinventing sugarcane as a crop with a wider range of use in new world of renewables Innovation in Agriculture is on the frontier of this work. “The sugarcane industry can produce sugar but it can also produce other things like electricity, biofuels for transportation and oils to replace traditional plastics.” Professor Henry and his colleagues at the University of Queensland’s QAAFI are working on sequencing the sugarcane genome as part of a US Joint Genome Institute project. Much larger than the human genome, it is the last of the 20 major crops to be sequenced due to its complexity. Nevertheless, with DNA science continuing to improve, Professor Henry expects to see “the mighty sugarcane” decoded by 2020..... https://bit.ly/4fgSr1K Robert Henry Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) The University of Queensland #Australia #Sugarcane #Genome #Biofuels Melissa Marino

How #WOB sparked decades of curiosty in Director of the Year Lel Smits Twenty years ago Lel Smits had no idea what a director was. Now she’s been named Director of the Year in the 2024 Women in Finance Awards. Celebrating her win, Lel thanked Women on Boards for sparking her interest in boards, and said it was a WOB information evening, getting updates through the weekly WOB newsletter and becoming a paid member of WOB which has helped her NED journey. “Twenty years ago I had no idea what a director was. Now I just won Director of the Year at the Women in Finance awards,” Lel wrote on LinkedIn. “A director's role is to guide, and it's my honour to serve.”Lel listed the three things that got her where she is today: Curiosity . “In my 20s, I attended a Women on Boards information evening. I joined their free newsletter and read it for 10 years - reading and actioning all I could.” Commitment to learning - “I threw myself into formal education and hands-on experience, logging 1000s of hours to master my craft. I developed the skills to meaningfully help others.”Becoming an advisor - “By my 30s, I'd advised 1,000+ executives..... https://bit.ly/3ZLSo8r Lel Smits GAICD Women on Boards #Australia #WomenOnBoard

Emirates scores another ace, returning as the Official Airline of the Australian Open for another five years Emirates announces a five-year renewal of its longstanding partnership with Tennis Australia, remaining as the Official Airline of the Australian Open until 2029. Emirates marked a decade as the Official Airline of the Australian Open this year, celebrating its ongoing commitment to Australia and support for local sporting events. Since partnering with Tennis Australia in 2015, Emirates has remained steadfast in its mission to bring tennis fans and players closer, sharing unforgettable moments at the matches. From 2025, the partnership will extend outside of the Australian Open to make a meaningful impact within local communities in need. Emirates and the Australian Tennis Foundation (ATF) have teamed up on an initiative funded by the airline’s ‘Force for Good’ programme. Emirates will invest $2.25 million over five years to inspire brighter futures for disadvantaged children and young people through tennis.... https://bit.ly/4f5At1N Australian Open #Emirates #Dubai #Aviation #Sports #Tennis #UAE #GCC #MiddleEast

Australia and Singapore Collaborate to Support Sustainable Infrastructure and Decarbonisation in Southeast Asia The Australian Government has approved a US$50 million investment into the Green Investments partnership (GIP) under Singapore’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P) initiative. The investment will support clean energy transition and sustainable infrastructure development across Southeast Asia. FAST-P was launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in 2023. Australia’s investment, administered by Export Finance Australia (EFA), will help facilitate investment opportunities in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure projects across Southeast Asia and create commercial opportunities for Australian exporters and financial institutions. This is the first investment under the Australian Government’s A$2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility (SEAIFF) — a key recommendation of Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. This highlights Australia’s commitment to practical action and reinforces their role as a committed and reliable partner for the region.... https://bit.ly/4glGxEF Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Export Finance Australia #Singapore #Australia #Sustainability #EnergyTransition #Decarbanisation #SoutheastAsia