This Month
Rich Lister charged in park asbestos contamination
Arnold Vitocco’s family company owns chocolate chain Max Brenner and is credited with building Liverpool in Sydney’s west. He is now charged with environmental crimes.
- Rohan Sullivan
October
Chickenpox and faded flowers: BHP challenges size of $70b lawsuit
BHP alleges some of the 620,000 bids for compensation rest on spurious claims, as part of a courtroom push to cut back the English class action’s colossal size.
- Hans van Leeuwen
‘Relentless pursuit of profits’: BHP lawsuit opens in London
The miner and class action lawyers Pogust Goodhead locked horns in court, but the protesters and TV crews gathered outside suggest a PR battle is also afoot.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
BHP faces down 620,000 Brazilians as Samarco class action kicks off
A British court will on Monday start a trial that was six years in the making. There’s $70 billion at stake, but some claimants say it’s not about money.
- Hans van Leeuwen
BHP tables $45bn plan to settle Brazilian quest for dam disaster cash
On the eve of a $70 billion class action in England, BHP has upped its parallel compensation offer to the Brazilian authorities over the 2015 Samarco disaster.
- Hans van Leeuwen
July
Paris mayor dives into Seine River to prove it’s safe for the Olympics
The big question on French lips is not whether the chronically polluted waterway will host sports, but whether President Emmanuel Macron will also take a dip.
- Hans van Leeuwen
May
Thames Water’s big stink: Is Macquarie to blame?
The crisis in England’s water sector is coming to the boil. Macquarie, with more than $3 billion invested and its UK reputation on the line, will be feeling the heat.
- Hans van Leeuwen
October 2023
- Opinion
- Carbon challenge
No matter who collects EV revenue, we have to charge smartly
EVs are clean, cheap to run, and could encourage more driving. That will be a test for state governments, which can no longer set road user charges.
- Marion Terrill
August 2023
London’s widening pollution tax sparks protests, stirs political passions
Moves in Britain to stamp out poor air quality and reduce car use have become a flashpoint.
- Jill Lawless
Are these ‘forever chemicals’ slowly killing you?
They’re in everything from non-stick cookware to yoga pants – and in the bodies of almost every human alive. They may be doing people great harm.
- Kim Tingley
SurfStitch founder snags $42m from ABN AMRO for sustainable retail biz
Justin Cameron’s new investor joins other high-profile backers KKR’s David Lang, Investible’s Trevor Folsom and Kardinia Capital’s Kristiaan Rehder.
- Carrie LaFrenz
Cadbury owner’s plan to stop importing waste for chocolate wrappers
The global confectionary giant currently imports recycled plastics to meet its target for 30 per cent recycled packaging as Australia doesn’t have a facility.
- Ben Potter
June 2023
Adamantem gets in on the green packaging party, holds talks with PAC
The Sydney private-equity shop is set to swoop on the wholesale food packaging supplier.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
NYC hit with world’s worst air quality from Canada bushfires
Pollution levels in the city were deemed to be in the ‘unhealthy’ range, and were higher than those in the Indian capital Delhi and Iraq’s Baghdad.
- Updated
- Jennifer Peltz and Rob Gillies
February 2023
Aussie researchers fixing aviation’s wicked problems
Research being done at Australian universities and science institutions is reducing the impact of fuels and other materials used in aviation.
- Alexandra Cain
December 2022
- Opinion
- Letters to the Editor
Letters: Limits to Dutton’s strategy
Peter Dutton’s leadership; energy company CEOs’ response to Labor’s plan; Chris Bowen; free market paradigm; ‘dirty dozen’ big polluters; AFR View and letters; grandfatherhood is outsourced.
November 2022
- Exclusive
- Food bowl
Can seaweed save the world?
After a rocky start, the onshore prawn farmer and wastewater management company, backed by entrepreneur Graeme Wood and the Liberman family, is looking to raise up to $20 million.
- Carrie LaFrenz
October 2022
A ship fuelled by plastic waste sets sail to help nations recycle
The Plastic Odyssey’s three-year mission is to give people in 30 countries the wherewithal to make a living from recycling their rubbish.
- Tony Davis
September 2022
How mushrooms can help clean our most toxic messes
Using mushrooms and their underground mycelium networks to remediate polluted land and water has benefits.
- Theo Chapman
August 2022
Ban old trucks from big cities to save lives: Grattan
Vehicles built before 2003 should banned from Sydney and Melbourne to reduce exposure to deadly air pollution, according to a new report.
- Gus McCubbing