Our environment

Conducting business responsibly means everything to us, and that means a commitment to sustainability and protecting the environment. We manage our properties in a way that uses energy efficiently, conserves water and reduces waste. We also have a range of in-house recycling and printing initiatives in place.

Communications

Making greater use of electronic communications reduces the amount of paper we use for our internal and external communications. The paper we do use is environmentally friendly and comes from sustainable sources.

Promoting electronic communications

Communicating electronically saves paper, ink - and money. That’s why we offer investors the opportunity to receive communications via email, which has resulted in over 1,500 investors taking up the offer.  (Please email us if you would like to switch from paper to electronic communications.)  This website, of course, is another way we communicate with our stakeholders with minimal impact on the environment.

Environmentally friendly paper and ink

Where printing is required, we use non-bleached paper from sustainable sources. The Advance Laser paper we use for our publications is manufactured from trees farmed under the environmental management system ISO 14001. The paper is elemental chlorine free and manufactured from fast-growing eucalyptus trees. The water used in its production is sourced from the Advance Agro mill’s own purpose-built reservoir, which collects rainwater and run-off. Advance Agro uses tree waste (bark and lignin) to generate electricity to run its mill.

The printing companies we use are locally owned and operated and use the latest in vegetable oil-based and mineral oil-free inks. These contain fewer chemicals and are more biodegradable and carbon efficient than their synthetically produced counterparts.

Building management

We manage our properties in a way that is environmentally responsible and resource efficient. We follow sustainable practices when building and refurbishing properties and work to reduce energy and water consumption and the amount of waste going to landfill.

Sustainable solutions bring multiple benefits

Our sustainability initiatives must support our tenants’ need to provide patient care, comfort and safety. For this reason, we consider all possible impacts of sustainable design and construction. Sustainable solutions often have multiple benefits. For instance, double glazing not only reduces air-conditioning costs by reducing solar heat gain, but also means less external noise, which adds to patient comfort.

Four Star Green Star rating for flagship property

In April 2009, Ascot Central was awarded a Green Star New Zealand - 4-star office design rating. Now that the building has close to full occupancy, we are looking to commission an independent report to assess the performance of the building. We will use this to set a benchmark for tracking the success of sustainability initiatives at Ascot Central and then apply that knowledge across our portfolio. 

Energy consumption

When upgrading existing properties, we take every opportunity to replace obsolescent plant and equipment with energy-efficient and environmentally responsible alternatives. 

Here are some examples of recent initiatives:

  • Hibiscus Coast Community Health Centre, Auckland - we replaced the air-conditioning chiller with an energy-efficient model (ASHRAE 90.1 compliant). The new chiller uses environmentally sound 410A refrigerant.
  • South Eastern Private Hospital, Victoria - we took the opportunity to replace wooden window joinery with double-glazed aluminium joinery as part of the rehabilitation centre development. This has created a more even, comfortable environment and reduced the use of air-conditioning to remove heat from the sun.
  • Palm Beach Currumbin Clinic, Queensland - here we have installed solar panels for water heating. This will supplement the existing water heating system and reduce energy costs. 

Water consumption

Water is a precious resource and we work hard to reduce how much is used in our properties. 

Conserving water

Here are a few examples of how we are conserving water in our properties:

  • We are installing dual-flush toilets in all our Australian redevelopment projects.
  • Ascot Central, Auckland - here we harvest rain water to use as non-potable water for flushing toilets, watering gardens and washing the outside of the building.
  • Landscaping is designed to be water efficient, including use of mulching, plant selection and water-efficient irrigation systems.

Waste reduction

We recognise the impact waste has on the environment and work with our tenants to reduce waste going to landfill and increase recycling. '

Reducing waste

Here are a few examples of how we are reducing waste from our properties:

  • We provide recycling bins to encourage our tenants to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill
  • Hazardous hospital waste is managed in the appropriate manner
  • We look to reuse existing structures and facilities on-site during design, where feasible