Opening the SFF, Ian Birks, CEO of the AIIA said, “Developing and promoting the environmental values of our industry is one of AIIA’s top strategic priorities.  The Australian ICT industry is very conscious of reducing the carbon footprint of its infrastructure and products as they form the foundation of modern business.  Information technologies are set to play an absolutely critical role in driving sustainable transformation across other industries.”

Demonstrating Leadership
Many speakers emphasised that the journey towards environmental sustainability starts with a commitment towards the environment.  This requires a change in the way the environment is accounted for within an organisation’s sourcing and procurement policies.  By adopting a vision or philosophy of environmental sustainability, we are moving towards “dematerialisation” or the reduction of an organisation’s output of waste and use of natural resources in products' lifecycles.

Bob Hayward, Director of Risk Advisory Services at KPMG highlighted that companies are being increasing faced with external pressures to demonstrate their leadership in environmental sustainability.  This includes managing stakeholders’ expectations, attracting employees, avoiding the increasing risk of regulation, managing risks and developing operational efficiencies.  These key areas need to addressed if companies want to take a leadership position in organisational sustainability.

Greater Efficiency
Businesses need to critically look at ways to develop greater efficiencies across their business.  Environmental sustainability is a continuous process aimed at achieving set targets.  A good example of how business can improve their sustainability is the development of strategies to reduce energy consumption in their premises as the cost of electricity is the single largest line item in an IT budget and electricity costs are expected to rise significantly with the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

Anita Roper, CEO of Sustainability Victoria emphasised the need for companies to establish baselines for environmental data through the implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) so they could move towards a standard or targets set for continuous improvement.

Extended Producer Responsibility
Companies are increasingly being called to meet sustainable procurement guidelines and this requires them to develop products that use less virgin materials, have a greater component of recycled materials, consume less energy and can be recycled at the end of its life.  By taking a product’s lifecycle into consideration, companies are constantly being challenged to design better products by consumers and businesses.

Hugh Wareham, CEO of Eco-Buy stated that the cost of carbon intensive goods is expected to increase with the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.  The cost of raw materials from energy intensive resources such as steel is expected to increase and this will impact on manufacturing companies.

Behavioural Changes
Businesses need to educate stakeholders to undertake behavioural changes if they want to reduce their overall carbon footprint.  This includes instituting educational and awareness programs to help employees, suppliers and partners understand their individual roles and responsibilities in reducing their impact on the environment.

Monitoring
Businesses should leverage proper monitoring and forecasting solutions to produce data that is defensible in the public domain.  Such data can be validated externally and used for publication in sustainability reports that are increasingly being sought by investors to determine the investment risk profiles of companies.  Sonya Stephens, Head of Public Sector, Victoria, at SAS stated that the downturn in the global economy will increase the pressure on companies to focus on data that is verifiable and valid.  She also added that having the right solutions in place will ensure companies are ready to take advantage of opportunities.

The SFF was attended by key decision makers including CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and government representatives from around Australia.  Speakers represented at the event include KPMG, PwC, Sustainability Victoria, Fosters Group and ANZ amongst others
The next SFF will be held in Sydney in March 2009.

The Review of the National Innovation System - Venturous Australia - chaired by Dr Terry Cutler delivered a comprehensive and timely report into Australia’s innovation ecosystem. AIIA's response the Venturous Australia recommendations can be downloaded through the AIIA website.

Government representatives held a briefing on the Digital Education Revolution on 1 October, as part of the Australian Council for Computers in Education Conference.

Educators and suppliers had the opportunity to find out more about the status of the project, and industry engagement emerged as a key theme: many companies are interested in finding opportunities within the program as it rolls out over the next five years.

Austrade is seeking industry feedback and your support through the Austrade 2008 ICT Industry Survey.

AIIA is involved in a wide range of activities designed to promote the value of a career in ICT to Australian students, parents and educators. Where the appropriate skills are simply not available in the domestic market, skilled migration has become a common way that Australian employers source the skills they need for their businesses.

The ICT industry remains the highest user of skilled migration programs, and most employers across the industry are aware of the 457 visa scheme.

However, sponsoring temporary workers is not the only way to secure skilled people for your business when the Australian workforce is unable to meet demand. Did you know you can sponsor skilled overseas workers for permanent residence? There are two visa pathways to consider.

Leading the way in global IT, Asian and Oceanian economies have steadily accelerated the pace for investing in education, research and development.

The ATOM Awards recognise the adaption and use of new technologies and innovation in the film, television, animation and multimedia industries. This year you have a chance to see the latest Australian screen talent on show at the free ATOM screenings in Federation Square, Melbourne.

To lighten the load on your inbox, the AIIA Bulletin has moved from weekly to fortnightly publishing.