Welcome to MECLA’s third newsletter of the year. As we markfive years of MECLA, keep an eye out for a special invitation coming soon.
Our working groups continue to collaborate across industry, alongside a growing calendar of Spotlight events and broader MECLA engagement. With a busy month of events ahead, we look forward to connecting with many of you soon!
MECLA Spotlight on Low Carbon Concrete
Tuesday, 12 May, 1.00-2.30pm AEST - online
This MECLA Spotlight is intended for councils and project teams interested in procuring low-carbon concrete and understanding how it can be specified, procured and delivered within local government contexts.
Drawing on areal‑world pouring pilot with the City of Newcastle, the session will explore the practical considerations in setting up a low‑carbon concrete pouring pilot — from early procurement conversations through to on‑site delivery. Participants will hear how a council used a small‑scale footpath project to compare low‑carbon concrete alongside a business‑as‑usual mix, supporting confidence in delivery without increasing project risks.
The session will also introduce two new MECLA resources developed from this pilot, sharing practical insights on project coordination and governance, as well as on‑site concrete placement and quality control, to support councils, delivery partners and industry practitioners considering similar approaches.
MECLA will again be in-person at Sydney Build, this year bringing our network into the conversation on low carbon materials and circular outcomes in the built environment. A big shoutout to our working group members who will be speaking across the program, and to those joining the MECLA panel on fitouts! We’re excited to see these conversations continue to build momentum across our ecosystem.
Shoutout to come and approach us at Sydney Build's Sustainability Stage for a 1-minute contribution to our 5-year anniversary. We are planning a little video for our celebrations.
Over the past 6 months MECLA, in collaboration with the Investors' Group on Climate Change, has developed guidance that sets out the role of investors in measuring and achieving lower embodied carbon outcomes in real estate and infrastructure, with a primary focus on the Australian market.
This work responds to the growing materiality of embodied carbon for long‑lived assets and the rapid evolution of climate‑related disclosure, net zero frameworks and market expectations for property and infrastructure portfolios. The aim is to translate emerging best practice in the construction ecosystem into practical, finance‑focused approaches that enable investors to measure, manage and reduce embodied carbon across equity and debt investments.
For our fifth anniversary, we would love if you would send us a short video of why you are part of MECLA and what you think makes joining MECLA great. Or it could be something that you have learned from being part of the network, or simply that it is fun being part of it.
You can send us a short video by email or look out for us at Sydney Build where we will happily take a video of you talking to our camera. Thank you in advance for your birthday wishes.
ClimateLaunchpad Australia 2026 – Applications Open
Applications are now open for ClimateLaunchpad Australia 2026, the world’s largest green business ideas competition, delivered by EnergyLab in collaboration with Climate KIC Australia, Climate KIC, and Boomerang Labs.
This is a great opportunity for early-stage founders, researchers, and innovators working on climate and clean-tech solutions to gain training, mentorship, and global exposure. Applications close on 30 May 2026.
MECLA's Working Group 5f - Engineered Timber is meeting on Tuesday, 21 April at 10am. Your chairs Tim Devlin and Yann Frampton will be welcoming you and will kick off the working group with a refresher on the key projects and “quick win” projects that were decided upon last year. These include:
Engineered Timber QS Cost-Certainty Pack - simple and clear budget and pre-tender guidance for accurately estimating a timber building
Engineered Timber Design and Procurement Playbook - A battle tested playbook for designing and procuring timber buildings
Engineered Timber Standards Alignment - Harmonising Australian engineered timber standards with proven global best practice on durability, detailing, species and Brigade expectations.
We also plan to do two 'quick win' projects
Engineered Timber Resource Library (PDF). Stay tuned on our website!
Engineered Timber GBCA Green Star Guide (PDF)
Please reach out to the MECLA secretariat if you want to participate in this working group. If your organisation is a member of MECLA, we can onboard you immediately, or we can set up a meeting to discuss how you can become a MECLA member (and still make this happen on or before the 21st).
You can find out more about MECLA by going to our website, by signing up to our newsletter or following us on LinkedIn to stay updated on future events and developments.
As always, email us with any questions and enquiries at info@mecla.org.au.
MECLA is funded through a mixture of industry and government commitments. We would like to thank all industry, research and government organisations that have already made a contribution to support MECLA going national.
MECLA c/o Climate-KIC Australia, University of Technology Sydney, Building 10, Level 10, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
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