Australian Property Groups Achieving Net Zero or Net Positive

Australian Property Groups Show Leadership in Emissions Reduction Achievement 

Property group owners in Australia have stepped up on climate change action; with setting, achieving or exceeding their sustainability and carbon emissions reduction goals.  Solpod has proudly supported several property groups with their solar PV rollout using our innovative, award winning solar solutions.

Solpod was developed by a team of Australian solar executives that saw a gap in the market.  Many businesses rent the buildings they occupy on short leases, meaning they were unable to commit to the 20 year+ timeframe required of standard solar.

Solpod developed re-deployable solar, opening up the commercial and industrial market to solar rental and flexible solar solutions.  Our team has since helped large property groups including GPT and Mirvac, install solar across their property portfolios.

GPT and Mirvac have both exceeded their original carbon emission reduction goals, setting a high benchmark for the property industry.  Property groups have provided optimism in the commercial sector through having a meaningful response to tackling our global climate change emergency.

Mirvac Now at Net Positive

Mirvac was the first Australian property group to join RE100, a global initiative through which companies commit to transitioning to 100 per cent renewable energy.

In 2021, Mirvac reached an incredible milestone of reaching net-carbon positive, 9 years ahead of schedule.

Mirvac retiring CEO & Managing Director, Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said: “Reducing, and ultimately, eliminating our carbon emissions, is the right thing to do for the planet and our business. Reaching this milestone couldn’t have come at a better time, with an increasing urgency for businesses to decarbonise to protect our planet and communities from the worst impacts of climate change.”

In 2022, Mirvac released its Mirvac Net Positive Strategy. See the following:

 

 

A key legacy of Lloyd-Hurwitz’s stewardship of Mirvac has been on carbon abatement.  Mirvac is now on Scope 3 of their net positive emissions target, aiming for 2030. Lloyd-Hurwitz says: “Scope 3 emissions are those we cannot control but can influence – things like embodied carbon in the materials we buy, emissions from waste disposal, and the energy used by our tenants and residential customers.

Solpod installed our re-deployable solar pods on a number of Mirvac owned buildings, including a 100KW system on Stanhope Gardens Village, NSW:

Image: Solpods on Mirvac’s Stanhope Gardens Village in Sydney

 

GPT Property Group Seeks to be a ‘Leader in Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience’

GPT is a property group that owns and manages office buildings, retail properties and logistics real estate.  GPT has set high standards for sustainability and its response to climate change.  The property group has the following policy statement: “GPT seeks to be a leader in carbon neutrality and climate resilience and views it as an important element of realising our vision to be the most respected property company in Australia.”

Solpod has installed a number of re-deployable solar pods across their property portfolio, including: Highpoint shopping centre in Maribyrong, VIC; Sydney Olympic Park at Quad 1 site, NSW; Norton Plaza in Leichhardt, Sydney; Rouse Hill Centre, Sydney; Charlestown Shopping Centre, NSW;  Parkmore Shopping Centre in Keysborough; and GPT’s Workplace 6 in Pyrmont, Sydney.

GPT has announced the following carbon emissions reduction goals:

  • Achieving carbon neutral certification for the operations of all GPT-owned and -managed buildings by end 2024
  • Achieving carbon neutral certification for jointly owned and non-managed asset operations by 2030

In 2021, Bob Johnston CEO and Managing Director of GPT said: “We have more carbon neutral building certified floor space than any other Australian property owner.”  As of December 2022, GPT had installed 6.3 MW of solar PV across their portfolio.

Solpod Redeployable Solar PV

Solpod helps more businesses reduce their emissions and save with solar, through Solpod Rental and our flexible solar solutions.  Solpods are able to be removed from the rooftop and redeployed, suitable for businesses who rent the buildings they occupy and property owners who require planning flexibility.

Solpods were installed on GPT’s Highpoint shopping centre in Melbourne, see the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57lZiMLIYRQ

Ryan Ling, Highpoint Centre Manager said: ” The inability to relocate traditional solar arrays once they are installed has been a major barrier to solar investment at Highpoint Shopping Centre.”   Ling explained that the low cost and ability for the solar pods to be moved was a decisive factor in choosing a Solpod installation on Highpoint shopping centre.

Find out how an Australian Made Solpod solar solution could benefit your business. Contact: hello@solpod.com.au or call 03 9089 0753.