Environmental

The ICT sector has much to offer in creating a cleaner, greener world. It can help to cut industrial and vehicle emissions, provide cleaner energy and water, and improve building and construction design efficiencies. WA industry is now expected to adopt sustainable development practices and technology is increasingly being relied on to provide the practical solutions.

Local companies are rising to the challenge. The WA environment management industry is modern and technically savvy, with strengths in many important areas including: renewable energy, such as solar and wind power technologies; water and waste water treatment; building and construction; and land and mine remediation. Areas now starting to gain some prominence are the possibilities becoming apparent in wave and geothermal (or hot rock) energy technologies.

An area much in the news at present is carbon capture and storage and WA companies are using their technologies to design, model and monitor programs in this area. Local firms are also developing technologies in biological water treatment systems and water purification, computer-based mapping of underground water, solar water pumping systems, odour control and chemical treatment. They have expertise in air pollution control, noise and vibration control. ICT is very much a part of the solution to the current challenges of climate change and clean energy and opportunities in environmental technologies are many.