1. Non-executive board members of CIWM Enterprises Ltd
There are two vacancies, the terms of office are three years commencing June 2016. There is no fee for the role of Non-Executive Director, however reasonable expenses will be covered. Applicants must be Members or Fellows or Licentiate of CIWM and must complete both nomination and application forms and return them to ceo@ciwm.co.uk by 12 noon on Thursday 28th April 2016.
Employees of either the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management or CIWM Enterprises Ltd should not apply. Shortlisted candidates will need to be available for interview on Friday 3rd June 2016.
Any questions or queries should be sent to ceo@ciwm.co.uk.
For application forms, job description and role and person specs, click here
2. UNDP and UNFPA seminar on sustainable procurement
The UNDP and UNFPA with the support of the UN informal Interagency Task Team on Sustainable Procurement in the Health Sector (SPHS) Secretariat are organizing a dialogue on “Fostering Sustainable Procurement: How Procurers Can Change the Global Health Sector” Wednesday, May 11, 2016, in UN City, Copenhagen. The event aims to bring together procurement practitioners from the global health aid market, to share the latest sustainable public and private procurement initiatives, showcase good-practice examples and advance the dialogue on how sustainable procurement practices and policies can be widely harmonized and scaled-up across the global health aid market.
For additional information contact: info@savinglivesustainably.org
To register click here
3. NUS and Philips lighting pay-per-lux scheme
The agreement between Philips Lighting, one of the largest lighting manufacturers in the world, and The National Union of Students is a world-first and it is hoped the agreement will act as an exemplar for future innovative business models.
The arrangement is similar to that of a traditional rental plan, as NUS pay a flat rate for the lease of the lighting systems and energy usage over a specified time period and do not have to pay any up-front costs to purchase the equipment outright.
Where the innovation lies, is that as part of the agreement Philips Lighting are committed to maintaining and upgrading the lighting solutions they have provided with their latest technology to make sure that they perform as efficiently as possible.
Philips provided at their cost a £100k, state-of-the-art, 7kW lighting system where energy consumption is measured against a baseline that will be calculated over the first few months of operation. When the energy consumption dips below this level, both NUS and Philips are rewarded, whereas if energy consumption is more than expected then Philips must pay a penalty, thus incentivising them to keep the building up-to-date with the most efficient lighting systems.
Read more here
4. Biopen lets doctors 3D print cartilage during surgery
If you need knee replacement surgery in the future, doctors may be able to create a custom-made joint from your own stem cells. A team from St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, have developed the Biopen, a type of 3D printer that uses “ink” made from hydrogel and stem cells. While 3D printing stem cells isn’t new, the exact shape of a patient’s cartilage often can’t be known until they’re cut open. Using the device, surgeons can precisely customise the joint to the patient with surgical “scaffolds,” then permanently harden the biogel using ultraviolet light.
Read the article here
