Premier's Sustainability Awards – 2020 winners and finalists
Premier's Recognition Award winner: Yarra Riverkeeper Association and Cleanwater Group - Litter and Polystyrene Pollution in the Yarra The full list of the 2020 Premier's Sustainability Awards category winners and finalists.
Built Environment
Winner: Frasers Property Australia
Project: Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre
Frasers Property Australia set out with an ambitious target to redefine the retail sustainability benchmark, and their Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre is on track to be the world's first Living Building Challenge (LBC) accredited shopping centre. The LBC accreditation is the most rigorous sustainability performance measure in built environment – only 24 buildings worldwide have achieved full certification.
A vast array of stakeholders including consultants, tenants and the project build team were engaged early in the process to help understand how to overcome the challenges of building to meet the LBC sustainability standard.
With a 6 Star Green Star Design rating, Burwood Brickworks self-sufficient qualities include; 100% renewable energy, 100% repurposed rainwater (stormwater and water within the buildings is captured, treated onsite and repurposed back within the building for irrigation), 99% of construction waste diverted from landfill, and an impressive 2500sqm rooftop urban farm revolutionising urban environment agricultural benefits.
Frasers Property Australia have participated in multiple workshops with the City of Melbourne that have focused on the project as a case study to influence planning scheme amendments relating to green projects.
Finalists
-
House with No Bills
After extensive research, Mirvac’s fully electric House with No Bills looks just like any other home in the development but uniquely employs multiple sustainability features that enable residents to reduce and potentially eliminate their energy bills.
All appliances installed are selected to be the highest star ratings available at an affordable price. The home features solar PV and battery system, upgrades of glazing, insulation, LED lighting, zoned air conditioning and heat pump hot water, achieving a 92% energy savings over a year.
-
Recycled waste plastics and glass fines in concrete footpath
In a Victorian first, Swinburne University collaborated with Wyndham City Council to produce 339 metres of footpath at Geddes Crescent Park in Hoppers Crossing comprised of 2.2 tonnes of recycled kerbside waste plastics and 4.8 tonnes of glass fines, equivalent to 199,000 plastic and glass bottles.
The research project and resulting footpath garnered significant national and international credibility, and it is estimated the approach used resulted in approximately 1700kg of carbon savings compared to utilising traditional materials in a concrete footpath of the same length.
Community
Winner: Totally Renewable Yackandandah
Project: Yackandandah Virtual Power Plant
Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY) through the Virtual Power Plant project have set the goal to enable Yackandandah to operate off 100% renewable energy by 2022.
TRY engaged 10 community groups to install solar panels and smart controllers on 10 public buildings, 3 with batteries. It was a substantial undertaking to partner with mainly volunteer run organisations and accommodate their schedule of works and differing organisational ambitions.
The Virtual Power Plant project saw the installation of 74kW of solar across a 14km radius network of publicly owned buildings to generate, store and share electricity to build a robust, localised, low-carbon and resilient electricity supply. The plant generates an extra 104MWh of clean energy, reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 88t CO2e per year, the equivalent of removing more than 17 cars off the road annually. A core consideration was to ensure key assets across the area would provide electricity during outages and emergencies.
The project normalised clean energy for the community, with engaging displays at each of the installations explaining the project to people and demonstrating how energy efficiency and local generation can become part of their daily lives.
Finalists
-
Living Water Workbees
Living Water Workbees built a calendar of community action and combined this with a network of water sensitive infrastructure for school and residential properties, to activate distinct 'water sensitive urban design' (WSUD) for the Port Phillip Bay precinct.
In 2019 a total of 132 Workbees were delivered, engaging 2626 volunteers. Workbees removed 4.2 tonnes of litter, planted 3156 plants and conducted 14 citizen science biodiversity surveys. The installed WSUD infrastructure has a total tanks capacity of 191kL and an estimated annual water diversion of 2.3 million litres.
-
QMF's War on Waste
Queenscliff Music Festival's (QMF) War on Waste program was a true community effort; educating attendees and locals in sustainable waste practices and exemplifying what is possible for similar events, with 95% of waste generated being diverted from landfill.
Partnering with Feed Me Bellarine and food vendors, the festival saw 500kg of excess food salvaged and delivered to citizens in need.
Additionally, over 500 families were engaged through Bellarine Catchment Network in festival activities, including propagation of seedlings which were later planted across the local dune system.
Education
Winner: Deakin University
Project: Blue Carbon Lab
The HSBC Blue Carbon Citizen Program – funded by HSBC, Deakin University and Earthwatch – empowers leaders to build a sustainable future and value Australia's coastal ecosystems. The program has educated more than 300 corporate executives (#BlueCarbonArmy) from HSBC and industry partners on climate change science and research.
By swapping suits for gumboots and providing an immersive experience into coastal wetland research, the #BlueCarbonArmy connects executives with nature – leading to scientifically-documented sustainable behaviours. The program was designed as a full-day immersive experience combining educational talks, discussions and research activities on local wetlands.
The active engagement of the participants in coastal research was designed to build scientific trust and generate key data to advance nature-based climate solutions in Victoria.
HSBC staff manage $100 billion in sustainable finance and recognised the crucial importance of environmental consideration when making corporate decisions. By educating Australia’s high-level executives in climate change literacy, this program facilitated sustainable changes within organisations and empowered financial decisions that lead to a greener future.
Finalists
-
Changing Climates: Victoria's first dedicated local climate column
Changing Climates is Victoria's first dedicated local climate column and was published weekly to 1.5 million readers across 25 Leader Community News mastheads.
Funded by the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation, the columns saw sustainability initiatives of local residents and businesses profiled and celebrated. Additionally, Bureau of Meteorology data from a selection of suburban weather stations was displayed as simple graphs to support the column's content.
Readers of the columns demonstrated a 15.82% increase in pro-mitigative behaviours, such as choosing sustainable transport over driving or eating less red meat, indicating a shift in behavioural response to climate change messaging.
-
MWPS Sustainability Hub
Mount Waverley Primary School built a Sustainability Hub for students and staff to learn about sustainability and become environmentally aware, responsible citizens.
The outdoor and nature-based learning hub saw engagement in nature, gardening, cooking and waste reduction. The space is a showcase of sustainability initiatives, with water tanks, a five-stream recycling system and drought tolerant indigenous gardens.
The Sustainability Hub has successfully brought all aspects of the sustainability programs together in one space; physically, emotionally, mentally and educationally.
Environmental Protection
Winner: Yarra Riverkeeper Association and Cleanwater Group
Project: Litter and Polystyrene Pollution in the Yarra
Recognising the diabolical effects of litter and polystyrene pollution to the health of the Yarra, Yarra Riverkeeper Association in conjunction with Clearwater Group sought to combat these negative impacts.
Four large scale Yarra Blitz community clean-up events held in 2019 removed 17,500kg of vacuumed waste and 665kg of community collected waste. This was achieved by individual members of the public, volunteers and community environmental groups cleaning sections of the Yarra on foot and in kayaks.
To identify potential sources and distributions of polystyrene on the Yarra River, data on polystyrene manufacturers, high-volume users, recyclers and distributors was collected using desktop research. These potential sources were then mapped using an interactive geographic information system which also included data on major polystyrene hotspots on the Yarra River (informed by the Yarra River Blitz project), drainage catchments, stormwater outlets on the river, and the locations of each litter trap in the Yarra.
By identifying and mapping these hot spot sources of pollution and subsequently facilitating the clean-up days, the initiative not only removed significant amounts of waste from the Yarra River precinct, but further engaged and educated the public and developed recommendations to prevent future pollution.
Finalists
-
Clean Bay Blueprint – Microplastics Trawls
Clean Bay Blueprint – 'Microplastics trawls' is a 3-year research project funded by the Port Phillip Bay Fund to help deliver the Port Phillip Bay Environmental Management Plan.
The Port Phillip EcoCentre and the Yarra Riverkeeper Association implemented a range of initiatives including river trawls to identify how much plastic pollution reaches Port Phillip Bay from Melbourne's Yarra and Maribyrnong rivers. Monitoring the changes in litter loads, one-off pollution events and effectiveness of anti-litter initiatives, supports the design and implementation of litter source reduction plans.
-
QMF's War on Waste
Queenscliff Music Festival's concerted 'War on Waste' effort to improve their sustainability credentials was a resounding success when 95% of waste generated by the event was diverted from landfill.
With a 24,000 attendance, just 178kg of waste was sent to landfill – a staggering 82% year-on-year decrease. The event achieved this through becoming the first of its size to become fully reusable, with all vendors serving reusable crockery, cups and cutlery, upcycling build waste and actively ensuring cleaner grounds for patrons to encourage more conscious waste disposal behaviour.
Environmental Volunteering
Winner: Volunteers of Bellarine Catchment Network and Volunteers of the Queenscliff Music Festival
Project: QMF's War on Waste
The Bellarine Catchment Network (BCN) has a long-term relationship with the Queenscliff Music Festival (QMF) and its community of volunteers. BCN is a not-for-profit group that includes more than 30 community groups who supported the QMF volunteers to develop and plan a range of sustainability initiatives. The 2019 festival saw an 86% increase in the number of community volunteers. The festival went ‘fully reusable’ for all vendors and the 24,000 attendees, resulting in only 178kg of waste sent to landfill over the three-day festival.
The use of the ‘Be a Local Hero’ campaign imagery and messaging provided a connection to the impact of waste on wildlife and the sensitive environment surrounding the festival site; assisting in driving patron engagement to keep the site waste free. Over 500 families took part in sustainability activities, including seed propagation, litter and fishing games, beachcombing and Ramsar wetland awareness.
To manage food waste, QMF partnered with Feed Me Bellarine, a volunteer community driven food sharing program. Across the event, approximately 500kg of surplus food was rescued and delivered to people in need.
Finalists
-
Sea Shepherd Marine Debris Campaign Victoria
Sea Shepherd's Marine Debris Campaign set out to create action opportunities through clean-up events, collect data for research, support community groups in their conservation efforts and bring awareness to the key issue of plastic and its damaging impact on the environment.
The Campaign has hosted 34 community clean-ups across Victoria with the support of 1,978 volunteers and removed 4,018kg of litter from the marine environment. The clean-ups recorded litter collection data for conservation research and inspired change and the adoption of more environmentally responsible behaviours.
-
Paddock trees – The lonely battlers of our landscape
Greta Valley Landcare Group volunteers set out to protect and enhance large old remnant paddock trees that harbour significant biodiversity, productivity and cultural benefits.
The team achieved the protection and enhancement of 46 remnant trees in the catchment, using fencing as well as planting over 1500 native shrubs and 300 new paddock trees across 20 different properties.
The project also delivered lasting agricultural productivity and biodiversity benefits, with the new trees providing important shade and shelter for stock and increasing local biodiversity.
Government
Winner: City West Water
Project: Stormwater Harvesting for a Greener West
Through increasing accessibility to stormwater for public open spaces, greening the urban environment and improving liveability, City West Water's Stormwater Harvesting initiative offers a holistic approach to urban greening. The program established guidelines – that also act as a blueprint for future infrastructure – to encourage the introduction of innovative products including modular storage chambers and compact pumping kiosks.
As part of City West Water’s Integrated Water Management program, stormwater harvesting projects aim to deliver enhanced social and economic benefits to the community by keeping public parks, gardens and sporting fields green. Initiatives like Stormwater Harvesting and Recycled Water help improve the liveability and wellbeing of communities; benefitting the community and demonstrating responsible urban water management.
The program reduced water bills for customers by $26,000/year, provided alternative water for irrigation, improved waterway health and vegetation, and minimised flooding and erosion impact on the sites and further downstream.
City West Water additionally set up a delivery model that can be adopted by other water utilities seeking to partner with local governments in their service area.
Finalists
-
Bass Coast Biolinks
Bass Coast Shire recognised Biolinks were imperative in improving vegetation cover across the shire.
Through enhancing vegetation and wildlife corridors along waterways – capturing and retaining water in the landscape – the 200 Biolinks will improve capacity for native plants and animals to adapt to predicted climatic impacts of higher temperatures and extreme weather events.
380,000 indigenous plants have been planted across the shire resulting in an increase of 189 hectares of native vegetation. Retaining native vegetation cover has contributed to significant landscape change and connects high-value ecological areas.
-
EnergySmart Public Housing Research Project
Acknowledging that tenants of public housing are among the lowest income Victorians, EnergySmart Public Housing Research Project assisted residents of 1500 public housing dwellings to effectively reduce their electricity bills, have a more comfortable home and reduce their environmental impact.
Interventions were designed to save tenants money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and establish more comfortable temperatures inside the home through winter and summer. This included careful selection of efficient appliances and building shell improvements to deliver tenant benefits.
This project was delivered in conjunction with the Australian Energy Foundation, who engaged with tenants to better understand how these new installations improved their thermal comfort and reduced energy costs. Australian Energy Foundation also delivered the residential upgrades with the support of a strong network of trusted suppliers and contractors.
The project achieved substantial benefits for tenants and reduced environmental impact for the state of Victoria.
Health
Winner: Bendigo Health
Project: Reducing Waste to Landfill via Recycling Curtains
To maintain hospital grade quality, bed screen/curtains require replacement each year. Recognising that the curtains were marketed as recyclable, Bendigo Health took considered steps toward ensuring recycling could take place. The anti-mould and anti-mildew impregnated component of the material proved to be a deterrent for general recyclers.
After much research to locate a recycler who would accept the polypropylene curtains Bendigo Health found that the Ballarat Replas facility processed large quantities of polypropylene materials in the manufacture of recycled products such as bollards, tables and signage.
To meet sanitation requirements, Bendigo Health developed a method of bailing the curtains to ensure no physical contact or handling needed to take place and the bale could be forked directly into recycling.
A three-year stockpile of the curtains (approximately one tonne) was successfully diverted from landfill in 2019. Bendigo Health are currently working with recyclers to find solutions to further divert their medical waste materials from landfill.
Posters displaying the suitability initiative throughout the facility foster a sense of patient and employee pride, a positive outcome for the hospital's culture and community.
Finalist
-
Alfred Health War on Waste
When monthly waste contractor reports and waste audits showed poor results, Alfred Health implemented a War on Waste (WoW) strategy to improve their sustainability credentials and minimise waste.
With goals to avoid and reduce waste, improve segregation and reduce contamination, Alfred Health rolled out waste signage systems, stringent bin colour coding labels and carefully considered bin layout.
Also encompassing staff education, the implementation of the WoW strategy saw recycling rates improve by 50%, reduced clinical waste and resulted in broader staff engagement with environmental sustainability.
Innovative Products or Services
Winner: Repurpose It
Project: Australian First Washing Plant
With the ambition to deliver a positive environmental outcome, Repurpose It (RPI) identified an opportunity in the construction and demolition waste sector to recover sands and aggregates from waste soil, including contaminated soil which had not been previously recycled in Australia.
Product accreditation was obtained across key stakeholder sectors including water agencies, Yarra Valley Water and City West Water, for the use of recycled sands, glass and aggregates materials. Approval was obtained from the Department of Transport to produce industry-first engineering materials that support road construction using the recovered clay from the washing process.
In 2019 RPI diverted 148,567 tonnes from landfill in its washing process and produced 141,000 tonnes of materials to substitute virgin extractive resource. Based on an independent LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), for each tonne of contaminated soil diverted from landfill and processed at the facility, 168kg of CO2-e is diverted from the atmosphere.
The relationships formed with key stakeholders has led to other partnership success stories, including RPI's remediation of the former Glass Recovery Services site in Coolaroo, where more than 50,000 tonnes of glass has since been recovered.
Finalists
-
WasteMaster
Green Eco established WasteMaster to retain the 'goodness' of food and organic waste, reducing overall waste in the commercial and high-density residential sectors.
The WasteMaster reduces food waste by up to 80% in 24 hours, using low levels of energy, and produces a pathogen-free by-product, a valuable resource that is safe to handle and store and significantly improves health outcomes associated with handling food waste.
A reduction of 84% in greenhouse gas emissions is achieved when compared to disposing of the same waste to landfill.
-
Schulz Organic Dairy Milk in Glass Bottles
Located in Timboon, south-west Victoria, Schulz Organic Dairy set out to bottle their milk in reusable glass bottles.
Following a sell-out trial of hand-bottled milk at Farmers’ Markets, Schultz crowd-funded to purchase equipment and produce quantities required to retail their milk in the broader Victorian market.
Schulz now delivers 3000 glass bottles of organic milk weekly, to over 50 retailers Victoria-wide, with an excellent return rate of 95% of bottles refilled and reissued. The initiative has averted 10,068kg of plastic bottles from landfill.
Large Business
Winner: Alex Fraser
Project: Laverton's Sustainable Supply Hub
Established in 2019, Alex Fraser’s Sustainable Supply Hub (The Hub) recovers diverse, high volume, priority waste streams to recycle high quality end products needed for infrastructure development.
The Hub is one of the world’s largest recycling facilities, producing over 1,000,000 tonnes of material annually, to provide the construction industry with sustainable alternatives to depleting earth resources. It markedly reduces landfill, carbon emissions and the need for transport and extraction. The Hub incorporates an integrated HRT (High Recycled Technology) asphalt plant, an innovative glass recycling plant and a construction and demolition recycling plant.
Recovered glass, asphalt, brick and concrete are recycled at The Hub to make new asphalt, road base and sand for civil construction. The glass recycling plant produces 800 tonnes of construction sand per day. It supplies the asphalt plant, producing up to 500,000 tonnes of recycled asphalt per year.
The Hub’s annual environmental outcomes include 200,000 tonnes of glass waste recycled into sand, saving 1 million kg of CO2, and 390,000 tonnes of high recycled asphalt, saving 3.3 million kg of CO2. The Hub has established strong end-markets with an urgent demand for recycled products.
Finalist
-
Woolworths at Burwood Brickworks
Woolworths partnered with property developer Frasers to test its ability to meet ambitious sustainability standards and go beyond built form to pursue a holistic sustainability strategy across store operations.
As a tenant in Burwood Brickworks – on its way to become the world’s first Living Building Challenge accredited shopping centre – Woolworths adopted 44 sustainability initiatives with results including a 14% reduction in energy consumption compared to an average store. After the first six months of operation, 91,300kg of cardboard and 330kg of soft plastics were recovered.
Small and Medium Enterprises
Winner: Repurpose It
Project: Australian-first Washing Plant
Based on their three key objectives – to deliver a positive environmental outcome for the state of Victoria, establish a niche in the construction and development waste materials arena, and position themselves and Victoria as leaders in construction and demolition resource recovery – Repurpose It (RPI) successfully launched their Washing Plant which diverts large volumes of construction waste that has historically been sent to landfill.
After being awarded the first EPA licence to process category C Waste Product, accreditation was obtained across key stakeholder sectors for the use of recycled sand, glass and aggregate materials that had not previously been approved for use. RPI attained approval from the Department of Transport to produce industry-first engineering materials to support road construction utilising the recovered clay from the washing process.
In March 2019, publicly listed engineering company, Downer, acquired a 50% share of RPI and the business has been able to leverage this relationship to promote the use of recycled materials such as sand, aggregates and glass in road making applications like asphalt manufacturing.
Finalists
-
MANRAGS Textile Recycling Initiative
Upon learning about the amount of textile waste generated by Australians each year, MANRAGS undergarments decided to take responsibility for the entire life cycle of their products and launch its sock recycling program.
They first partnered with a Victorian textile recycler to learn about the process, then engaged a packaging company to supply printed compostable satchels for customers to mail back old and unwanted socks.
Since launching in September 2019, a community of 40,000 members have saved 13,000 kg of socks from going to landfill.
-
Z-Range
SJD Homes’ mission is to deliver zero net carbon homes at affordable prices.
With the average home producing 7 tonnes of greenhouse gas per year, SJD Homes recognised the need for a new model of housing that was sustainable, affordable and familiar – resulting in the Z-range.
Z-range homes are actively contributing to a sustainable future, generating an average $653 in energy bills per year as compared to $4000 for a typical home in suburban Melbourne, reflecting not only a reduction in greenhouse gases but an achievement for reducing cost of living.
Premier's Recognition Award
Winner: Yarra Riverkeeper Association and Cleanwater Group
Project: Litter and Polystyrene Pollution in the Yarra
Recognising the diabolical effects of litter and polystyrene pollution to the health of the Yarra, Yarra Riverkeeper Association in conjunction with Clearwater Group sought to combat these negative impacts.
Four large scale Yarra Blitz community clean-up events held in 2019 removed 17,500kg of vacuumed waste and 665kg of community collected waste. This was achieved by individual members of the public, volunteers and community environmental groups cleaning sections of the Yarra on foot and in kayaks.
To identify potential sources and distributions of polystyrene on the Yarra River, data on polystyrene manufacturers, high-volume users, recyclers and distributors was collected using desktop research. These potential sources were then mapped using an interactive geographic information system which also included data on major polystyrene hotspots on the Yarra River (informed by the Yarra River Blitz project), drainage catchments, stormwater outlets on the river, and the locations of each litter trap in the Yarra.
By identifying and mapping these hot spot sources of pollution and subsequently facilitating the clean-up days, the initiative not only removed significant amounts of waste from the Yarra River precinct, but further engaged and educated the public and developed recommendations to prevent future pollution.
Premier's Regional Recognition Award
Winner: Totally Renewable Yackandandah
Project: Yackandandah Virtual Power Plant
Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY) through the Virtual Power Plant project have set the goal to enable Yackandandah to operate off 100% renewable energy by 2022.
TRY engaged 10 community groups to install solar panels and smart controllers on 10 public buildings, 3 with batteries. It was a substantial undertaking to partner with mainly volunteer run organisations and accommodate their schedule of works and differing organisational ambitions.
The Virtual Power Plant project saw the installation of 74kW of solar across a 14km radius network of publicly owned buildings to generate, store and share electricity to build a robust, localised, low-carbon and resilient electricity supply. The plant generates an extra 104MWh of clean energy, reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 88t CO2e per year, the equivalent of removing more than 17 cars off the road annually. A core consideration was to ensure key assets across the area would provide electricity during outages and emergencies.
The project normalised clean energy for the community, with engaging displays at each of the installations explaining the project to people and demonstrating how energy efficiency and local generation can become part of their daily lives.
