The latest corporate buzzword in boardrooms around Australia right now is ‘ESG’. How is this impacting us locally in and around Perth?
In today’s workplace environment, there are growing expectations for corporate headquarters to extend far beyond traditional office functionality and aesthetics requirements. Increasingly, investors, key stakeholders and business owners are looking for opportunities to reflect their core values and corporate sustainability practices through Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments.
Importantly, the three pillars of the ESG framework, that reflect a business’s impact on society and the environment, are measured, and regularly reported on.
If it can be measured, it can be improved.
By tracking ESG’s and making positive change, businesses can identify and manage associated risks more effectively, and promote its reputation, customer loyalty, employee satisfaction and even investor confidence.
One way that businesses are measuring and reporting on their Environmental impact is by creating, occupying or owning a Green Star Certified Building. Founded by the Green Building Council of Australia in 2003, Green Star is an internationally recognised rating system that sets the standard for healthy, resilient and positive buildings and places. A building can achieve up to a 6 star rating, and currently in Australia, there are only 12 buildings that have achieved the ultimate level.
Currently, under construction in Rokeby Road, Subiaco, Holland Gardening and the project team from Hub Interiors, are targeting a 5 star building rating for the new HG office headquarters. Christian Formby, Project Architect and Builder at Hub Interiors, advised that the project is on track to achieve the targeted Green Star certification, and that the project was due for completion in April 2025.
Mr Formby explained how their holistic approach is key to the project’s Green Star success:
“Aiming for 5 stars brings a certain level of complexity, so its important to collaborate and communicate effectively with the project team. Together, we meticulously considered and planned every aspect of the project from inception, carefully considering the site conditions and the existing building envelope we would retain. Through detailed analysis, 3D modelling and creative thinking, we were able to design an office and adjacent outdoor space that ticks off all the functionality the client required for their operations, a building that will integrate well
with the surrounding streetscape, and in addition account for the mechanics of achieving the 5 star rating.“
The Holland Gardening project will deliver an advanced mechanical and electrical system, eye scan security technology, a solar energy system, electric vehicle charging stations, an outdoor balcony with automatic louvers, a new car park structure and an indoor plant laboratory. Through an advanced building management system, the status, health and efficiency of the building will be monitored, measured and reported on.
Sustainable practices are further reinforced in the interior fitout with specification of low-toxin materials, sustainably certified furniture, water-saving fixtures and an end-of-trip facility designed to encourage sustainable commuting practices among employees.
Mr Formby concludes, “Sustainable office design and implementation of ESG practices are more than just a trend - they are a necessary evolution in the way we design and use our buildings. As a collective group of building owners, business owners, investors, architects and interior designers, we have the power to do more, however I am pleased we are heading in the right direction in terms of environmental design and creating a stronger foundation for the next generation.”
