The Australian Climate Exchange (ACX) was conceived by two former executives of Australia's largest independent oil & gas producers back in July 2005, who saw, from the perspective of large greenhouse gas emitters, that there were major structural market hurdles that prevented developers of low emission technologies and projects from selling the resulting emission reduction benefits to the big emitters who needed it.
ACX was officially born in December of that year and has subsequently worked on frameworks and mechanisms to bring the suppliers and buyers of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission abatement together.
In July of 2007 ACX launched the first electronic emissions trading platform (similar to the exchanges successfully trading greenhouse gas in Europe) in Australia. By listing for trade government accredited emission commodities, the ACX ensures that the abatement that is counted in the certificates traded actually represents a true reduction in the nation's emissions.
This combined with the abatement registries for the offsets listed ensures that abatement is not double counted and that the sellers actually have the right to sell. The business rules of the ACX ensure an orderly and transparent market that no participants can manipulate or game.
The trading platform, which was built and is administered by ACX's joint venture partners the Australian Pacific Exchange (APX), ensures that the price paid for the abatement is a fair market price. APX has many years experience in running financial markets making it a logical partner to deliver ACX's vision of a fair and transparent market for greenhouse gas emission abatement.
What is emission abatement and how does it work? Essentially emission abatement or carbon credits as they are sometimes called are units of measuring 1 tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) that has been stopped from being released into the atmosphere and therefore stopped from adding to the global warming effect that is causing climate change. By trading this abatement to someone else they are doing two things:
1. Getting value for the abatement therefore providing the financial support for the abatement activity; and
2. Passing the right to claim that they caused the abatement to happen to the buyer of the abatement.
But this is only half the story. For the abatement to be truly "used" it must be offset against an equal emission that has occurred. This is done by acquitting the abatement against an emission thereby extinguishing both. This is done through the Abatement Registry which records the acquittal of each abatement certificate. Once acquitted abatement certificates cannot be used again.
So when M2 purchase the emission abatement through their GreenMobiles™ initiative they also acquit that abatement on behalf their GreenMobiles™ customers, effectively reducing their individual greenhouse gas emission footprint.
The emission abatement that is purchased and acquitted by M2 is either Greenhouse Friendly™ Approved Abatement (VERs) or selected (met the transparency and credibility standards for listing on the ACX) NSW Greenhouse Gas Abatement Certificates (NGACs). Both products are therefore accredited by government agencies to be truly "additional" (actual reductions) emission abatement.
MobileMuster is the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry. It is voluntarily funded by handset and battery manufacturers Nokia, Motorola, Samsung Electronics, Sony Ericsson, LG Electronics, Sharp, NEC, Panasonic, I-Mate, Force Technology and network carriers Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, 3 Mobile, Virgin Mobile and AAPT. MobileMuster is managed on behalf of its members by the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA).
With people turning over their handsets every 18 to 24 months there are nearly 16 million handsets estimated to be stashed away in homes and offices, going to waste. MobileMuster is committed to boosting its collections by 200%, increasing awareness and participation and halving the volume of mobile phones going to landfill.
Since launching MobileMuster in December 2005 awareness of recycling has jumped by 30% from 46% to 79% and collections have nearly doubled from 50 tonnes in 2005-06 year to 86 tonnes in 2006-07. Total collections since the program started in late 1999 is over 464 tonnes which includes more than 2.7 million handsets and batteries and over 180 tonnes of chargers and accessories. However, there is still some way to go.
Over 90% of the materials recycled through MobileMuster are recovered and used to make new products like plastic fence posts, jewellery, stainless steel and other useful items.
There are more than 1900 collection points across Australia including Nokia Care Centres, mobile phone retailers Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, 3 Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Crazy Johns, Fone Zone, Allphones and participating Cartridge World stores, local councils, ANZ and Sydney Credit Union branches. To find your nearest collection point go to www.MobileMuster.com.au and simply type in your suburb or postcode. |
