The University of Sydney has joined the Sydney Better Buildings Partnership, an alliance of 14 major commercial and public sector organisations, which collectively own nearly 60 percent of Sydney's CBD office space.

 

The Partnership, formed in March this year, aims to increase the sustainability of Sydney's commercial and public sector buildings - including through improving energy, water and waste efficiency - and thereby contribute to the City of Sydney's Sustainable Sydney 2030 initiative, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent from their 2006 levels over the next two decades.

 

Each member of the Better Building Partnership is driving change through the implementation of a range of showcase green initiatives.

 

The University's 'showcase initiative' is a new building, due for completion in late 2013, which will house a  centre that aims to significantly reduce the personal and social burden of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

 

The centre will draw together a community of academics to consider everything from food production to the economics of grocery shopping, the physiology of metabolic disorders, clinical translational research, public policy, health economics, law and regulation, behavioural sciences and cultural studies.

 

They new building will encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, while also delivering important sustainability features.

 

Sustainability features of the new centre building include:

  • geothermal heat exchangers to provide a renewable means of offsetting the heating and cooling loads of the building
  • trigeneration to offset power demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • reduced energy consumption through a high-efficiency 'building envelope'
  • improved thermal performance of building fabric through use of a double-skin facade.

The 14 founding member companies and organisations are:

  • AMP Capital Investors
  • Brookfield Office Properties Australia
  • Charter Hall
  • Colonial First State Property Global Asset Management
  • DEXUS
  • GPT Group
  • Investa Property Group
  • Lend Lease
  • Mirvac
  • Stockland
  • Frasers Property
  • The University of Sydney
  • University of Technology, Sydney
  • City of Sydney Council

More information is here