Commercial entities are showing the way forward in sustainable development. Property developer Lend Lease’s Barangaroo South project in Australia has been chosen as a pilot project for the newly released Green Star – Communities PILOT rating tool, and is set to be Australia’s first large-scale carbon neutral community. Meanwhile, carpet makers Interface, in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London, has launched the Net-Works project to recycle discarded fishing nets from the Philippines into new carpet products. Read more

Thursday 24 January 2013:

Lend Lease’s Barangaroo South project, part of the $6 billion Barangaroo urban regeneration development on Sydney Harbour, has been accepted as a pilot project for the newly released Green Star – Communities PILOT rating tool.

Green Star – Communities is an independent, national rating tool developed by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) to support the design and delivery of more sustainable, productive and liveable communities.

According to the GBCA’s Chief Executive, Romilly Madew, Lend Lease has a long history as a market leader in sustainability, and was an early adopter of the Green Star rating tools for buildings.

“Just as, back in 2005, Lend Lease’s 30 The Bond demonstrated that green building was achievable, we expect Barangaroo South will become a new green icon of sustainability at the precinct scale,” Ms Madew says.

Lend Lease’s Managing Director for Barangaroo South, Andrew Wilson, says that Lend Lease piloted the first green building rating tools nearly a decade ago.

“Now we are proud to be a pilot project for the next generation of rating tools that examine the sustainability of whole communities. We look forward to testing our sustainability plans against the credit criteria, and assisting the GBCA to test the pilot tool on a live project,” Mr Wilson says.

He adds that the Barangaroo Delivery Authority is also a sponsor of the Green Star – Communities tool is supportive of Lend Lease’s pilot process at Barangaroo South.

The GBCA will now work with Lend Lease to benchmark Barangaroo South against 38 credits in the Green Star – Communities categories of Liveability, Economic Prosperity, Environment, Design,and Innovation.

Lend Lease aims for Barangaroo South to be Australia’s first large-scale carbon neutral community. Ultra energy efficient buildings, efficient precinct infrastructure, on and offsite low carbon and renewable energy, teamed with zero carbon waste treatment and commuter carbon emission offsets will result in a net carbon neutral outcome in operation for the precinct.

Commercial towers are being designed to achieve 6 Star Green Star Design and As Built ratings, and developments to achieve 5 Star Green Star ratings.

With a mix of uses, including commercial, residential, retail and dining, along with a new landmark hotel, on completion Barangaroo South will be home to around 1,200 residents, 23,000 office workers and more than 2.9 hectares of public space.

About Green Star – Communities

Green Star – Communities is an independent, national, voluntary rating tool developed by the Green Building Council of Australia to drive more sustainable, productive and liveable communities. Green Star – Communities supports the planning, design and delivery of communities, precincts and neighbourhoods that prioritise environmental sustainability – such as minimising energy and water consumption, and reducing dependence on motor vehicles – alongside broader issues such as economic prosperity, liveability and community health and wellbeing. For more information, visit:

www.gbca.org.au/communities

About the Green Building Council of Australia

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) is Australia’s leading authority on green buildings and sustainable communities. The GBCA was established in 2002 to develop a sustainable property industry in Australia and drive the adoption of green building practices. The GBCA has more than 700 member companies who work together to support the Council and its activities. The GBCA promotes green building programs, technologies, design practices and processes, and operates Australia’s only national environmental rating system for buildings and communities – Green Star.

Source: www.gbca.org.au

15 January 2013:

Interface casts a wide net for the environment

Global carpet tile manufacturer Interface, Inc. and conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) are celebrating the successful completion of a pilot project and the start of a commercial venture with both conservation and socio-economic benefits.  The innovative collaboration, called Net-Works, has been created to tackle the growing environmental problem of discarded fishing nets in some of the world’s poorest coastal communities.

By establishing a community-based supply chain for discarded nets, Net-Works aims to improve the livelihood of local fishers, while providing Interface with an innovative source of recycled materials for its carpet tiles. Discarded nets on the beaches or in the sea have a detrimental effect on the environment and marine life as they can persist for centuries. But, most nylon from these fishing nets is the same material used to make carpet yarn.

The viability of the collaboration was proven between June and October 2012.  After conducting research and working closely with local communities and NGOs, Net-Works established the infrastructure to collect the fishing nets, gathering one metric ton of nets in the first month -and substantially cleaning up the beaches in four local communities near Danajon Bank, a threatened coral reef in the Philippines.  Operations are now scaling up, with the intention of developing commercial carpet tiles incorporating the collected nets later this year.

Collection systems will now be set up in at least 15 local villages, involving more than 280 impoverished households (the equivalent of 1,400 people based on an average household size of five).  The goal is to collect 20 metric tons of nets by the end of April—a significant amount that will generate funds directly for communities and make a positive difference, given that family incomes in the area are typically less than $192 a month.

Nigel Stansfield, Chief Innovation Officer at Interface says, “It is really gratifying to see that the concept we’ve developed with ZSL works and promises so much.  At Interface, we are designing for a higher purpose—and feel a sense of responsibility beyond the products we sell.  The collected fishing nets have a nylon that can be recycled directly back into our carpet tiles, which will help us reduce our use of virgin raw materials and, critically, create livelihood opportunities for local communities. We are now looking forward to expanding operations and delivering the first carpet tiles from our collaboration.”

Dr. Nick Hill from ZSL says, “Net-Works has been greeted with a huge amount of enthusiasm and interest from the local communities around Danajon Bank. This was clearly seen by the number of people interested in participating in the project and turning out to clear the beaches of discarded nets. Nets are very light, and we always knew our target of collecting one tonne of nets from such a small number of communities was going to be a challenge – so we’re delighted that we have been able to achieve this. It is still early and we will be monitoring both the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the project over the coming year, but the signs are there that these impacts will be positive.”

Throughout 2013, Interface and ZSL will explore opportunities to expand their partnership to other parts of the world.  They also plan to develop a toolkit to help other groups and organizations establish Net-Works supply hubs.

Source: www.canadianinteriors.com