TGL News: The end of an era

Greenlister the Collaborative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living will close its doors at the end of this month after seven years of delivering evidence-based research to industry, government and the built environment sector, alongside an army of industry, academic and government partners…not to mention media such as The Fifth Estate.

In the national research and innovation hub’s closing newsletter, chief executive officer Professor Deo Prasad reflected on its achievements.

He’s presided over 20 practical modelling and forecasting tools, the establishment of 16 living laboratories across the country, and the publication of more than 800 papers and reports – just for starters. Professor Prasad was particularly proud of two independent audits confirming the Centre would “not only meet, but exceed, its founding goals”.

The audits, conducted by PwC and UNSW Sydney, predict the centre will deliver cumulative CO2e savings of more than 12 Megatons by 2020 (rising to more than 100Mt by 2027), as well as more than $1 billion in economic benefits through efficiency projects, research and tools by 2027.

“In addition, our partners tell us we have delivered significant co-benefits by bringing a culture of research and innovation to the sector, and fostering collaboration between industry, government and research,” Professor Prasad continues.

“To me, this is the real measure of our success as a CRC.”

The centre’s head office at UNSW Sydney will close on November 29, 2019, but its legacy of research, education and initiatives will continue under the CRCLCL’s six Nodes of Excellence.

There’s much hope for a Future Cities CRC, planned on the back of “increased industry appetite” for the centre’s work. Its success is dependent on the outcome of a bid for Round 21 of the CRC Program, with outcomes being released in December 2019.

You can read more about the centre’s achievements in its exit report here.

The CRC for LCL has also been nominated as a finalist in the 2019 Banksia Sustainability Awards. Winners will be announced at the Gala Awards Night Presentation in Sydney on Tuesday 3 December, 2019.

Chief executive of the Greater Sydney Commission Dr Sarah Hill will be presenting a lecture at Sydney University as part of the Henry Halloran Trust‘s annual lecture series.

The lecture is titled “Just rezone it and they will come” and will focus on “strategy, governance and property economics in the brave new world of city planning”.

The lecture will be held on Thursday 21 November, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, in Lecture Theatre 1040 of USYD’s Abercrombie Building.

The lecture is free to attend. For more information and to register, visit the University’s website.

Greenlister Built. has taken out seven awards at the 2019 Master Builders Association NSW Construction Awards, including the Outstanding Construction Award for its work on the Anzac Memorial as part of the Centenary Project.

The Centenary Project was recognised by the judging panel for its careful use of materials, its attention to detail, and clever construction techniques – all within critical time constraints.

Its approach to the “unique project” was “innovative in overcoming design problems” the panel added. The Project was also recognised with the Best Use of Concrete award.

Built. also received the Excellence in Environment award for its construction of the 13-storey 6 Star Green Star105 Phillip Street building in Parramatta, as well as the award for best retail building over $15 million for the Sydney Tiffany & Co Flagship store, and the Safety Innovation award for the SimpliSWMS app.

Greenlister CitySwitch NSW has announced the finalists for its 2019 CitySwitch Awards. These annual awards showcase signatories of the program that “have demonstrated outstanding environmental leadership, cut energy use, slashed carbon emissions and reduced waste to landfill”.

This year’s nominees are:

New signatory of the year
Finder, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Optiver, Vodafone

Signatory of the year under 2000sqm
Employers Mutual Limited, JLL, Steensen Varming

Signatory of the year over 2000sqm
Australian Federal Police, Commonwealth Bank, Dexus, The George Institute for Global Health

Partnership of the year
Finder and Kua, Steensen Varming and Charter Hall,  Interrelate and TOMRA and Return&Earn NSW

Winners of each category will be announced at an event on Wednesday 20 November at One Farrer Place, Sydney.