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Sustainably Spotlight – Builders
A commercial and residential building company centring on the belief in sustainability as praxis, Wilderness Building Co is certified by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany. This informs an approach to sustainability that not only inspires a mindful and adaptive use of materials but also draws upon the knowledge and skills of all those involved in a project. Wilderness Building Co emphasises collaboration and respect for all parties to the process of bringing a building to fruition, from owners to architects, contractors and labourers. Working with like-minded architects and designers such as Kennedy Nolan, Finding Infinity, Partners Hill and John Wardle Architects, Wilderness Building Co is at the forefront of the design and construction industry’s contribution to creating a more sustainable built environment. Further illustrating the company’s continuous striving to create more sustainable processes and ways of operating is a partnership with Lug & Carrie, whose electric bikes are now used on worksites to reduce the need for traditional fossil-fuel vehicles.
Hacer Group recognises it holds a responsibility in contributing to the social wellbeing of communities in which it operates and is committed to embedding sustainable initiatives into all systems and operations. In seeking to reduce its environmental impact, Hacer works hand-in-hand with designers and architects to ensure a high standard of sustainable design and construction. This approach saw the company awarded the 2020 Master Builders Victoria Excellence in Construction Awards for the Best Sustainable Project for Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre, for which Hacer worked alongside client Frasers Property and architects NH Architecture. Hacer’s ‘Sustainable Action Plan’ ensures the company operates with clear sustainability goals, targets and actions that are applied across all elements of operations and culture. This initiative, endorsed by Hacer’s Board of Directors and implemented by the company’s own ‘Green Team’, is monitored by the Sustainability Manager and will undergo continued development to ensure Hacer’s sustainability focus will continue to adapt with the times.
Never Stop Group seeks to work closely with every client to ensure that environmental sustainability is prioritised.
With efforts in sustainable practice across residential and commercial work that have been recognised with industry awards and commendations – including HIA’s Victorian Greensmart Award, Workplace Design and Sustainability Awards in the Commercial (Small) Architecture category and Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) – Never Stop Group seeks to work closely with every client to ensure that environmental sustainability is prioritised. Standout projects include ONA Coffee Brunswick, which is completely carbon neutral in operation, and Australia’s first carbon neutral large-scale gin distillery and hospitality venue, Four Pillars Gin, in Healesville. Never Stop Group’s approach to sustainability encompasses practices to reuse and recycle as many materials as possible, working with high-performance windows and insulation, implementing passive cooling and hydronic heating and installing solar arrays and energy efficient appliances. In minimising its own carbon footprint, Never Stop Group has begun a process of certification with the Carbon Reduction Institute and audits all its internal processes, bills, fuel, waste, recyclables and travel, which informs schemes to reduce and offset waste and energy use. Always striving to reach higher standards, Never Stop Group operates with an ever-evolving and innovative approach towards changing the face of sustainability in the building industry.
The team at Green Anvil Co. are focused on helping clients to repurpose existing materials and specify the most sustainable options when it comes to the addition of new features and materials.
Since 2014, Green Anvil Co. has been focused on sustainable construction techniques in the commercial, residential and hospitality sectors. Under the leadership of Director and Founder Sam O’Flaherty, the company brings the same attention to detail and emphasis on sustainability to all projects, from event spaces to shop fit-outs, temporary structures and homes. As a member of the Green Building Council of Australia, Green Anvil Co. works closely with clients to meet their own sustainability goals. The team at Green Anvil Co. are focused on helping clients to repurpose existing materials and specify the most sustainable options when it comes to the addition of new features and materials. One example is Perfect Storm, a unique apartment designed as a brutalist bunker but constructed with alternatives to carbon-intensive concrete. Another is a workspace for creative consultancy Present Company, which re-used materials salvaged from the previous tenant’s fit-out. Continuing to learn from projects such as this and innovate through collaboration, Green Anvil Co. demonstrates an agile and curious approach to the challenges of building sustainably.
Understanding that the future is made by sustaining the present, John Holland Group takes a long-term, broad-scale approach that considers people, clients, supply chain and environment when beginning a project. As a result, the company’s commitment to sustainability integrates economic growth, environmental resilience and social progress as the priorities informing decision making, while a Sustainability Framework consisting of four pillars – encompassing people, the built and natural environment, community and partners, leadership and strategy – guides how John Holland Group achieves sustainable outcomes. For example, at the New Intercity Fleet Maintenance Facility project on the Central Coast in New South Wales, the John Holland team trialled new more sustainable materials to replace conventional steel reinforcement in non-structural concrete. Substituting recycled glass sand and Emesh, a 100% recycled plastic fibre, in the concrete mixes was not only faster, cheaper and safer but it reduced the carbon footprint of this section of the job by 92%. John Holland is an active member of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA), Australian Constructors Association’s Sustainability Working Party and a founding member of the Australian Supply Chain Sustainability School (ASCSS). The company voluntarily reports its sustainability progress publicly for transparency and accountability.
