three adults repairing bicycles

Sustainability Victoria is proud to showcase the 2023 winners and finalists of the Premier’s Sustainability Awards.

These organisations and individuals span industry, businesses, government, charities, social enterprises and not-for-profits. They are trailblazers who are leading the way in Victoria’s transition to a circular, climate-resilient economy. Read on and be inspired.

Winners were announced at the Premier’s Sustainability Awards Ceremony at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square on 23 November 2023.

Circular economy innovation

Community Champion Winner: Wholefoods Unwrapped Collective

In the hospitality and food-service sectors, delivering produce creates a significant amount of waste in the form of packaging destined for landfill. Wholefoods Unwrapped minimises this waste by using durable and reusable containers from paddock to plate.

This circular economy solution inspires food providers and customers to think differently about the impact of waste generation on the environment by removing their dependence on energy-intensive and unnecessary packaging. Importantly, it also translates those thoughts into specific and measurable action.

Wholefoods Unwrapped reaches 2,400 customers, with 100-plus regular customers, 45 food manufacturers, and 50-plus primary producers. This solution diverts up to 15 tonnes of non-organic waste from landfill annually with reusable containers for food transportation, enabling customers and businesses to adopt sustainable practices.

Industry Leader Winner: ecologiQ

Australia is on the verge of a waste crisis as the world’s largest recycling markets offshore bans waste exports, and Victoria’s landfills approach capacity.

The Victorian Government’s ecologiQ program responded to this with its Recycled First Policy. This Australian-first policy requires contractors delivering major Victorian transport projects to use as much recycled and reused content as possible.

Since the policy was implemented in 2020, more than 3.3 million tonnes of recycled materials have been committed across 51 projects – more than enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Recycled First is inspiring the broader infrastructure sector to think differently about waste and deliver greener infrastructure for all Australians.

Finalists

Future energy

Community Champion Winner: Bunyip Renewables Action Group

Bunyip Renewables Action Group (BRAG) was created by Bunyip residents in 2020 in response to the increasingly alarming effects of climate change. It aims to reduce the carbon footprint of the Bunyip district by facilitating the town's switch to renewable energy.

BRAG has already helped several organisations and residents to reduce their carbon footprints. Thanks to seed-grant funding, BRAG is working to progress a 0.8m MWh solar farm and 1.6m MWh battery installation project in the south of the township.

Several smaller projects, workshops and grants have helped Bunyip residents learn about renewable energy and resources. BRAG has also made valuable connections with local government, other renewable energy groups, local volunteer groups, and businesses.

Industry Leader Winner: Kinetic Melbourne

The Zero Emissions Bus Depot aims to deliver a cleaner, greener bus network for Victorians. It involves upgrading electrical infrastructure at Kinetic’s Sunshine West and Heatherton depots to house and charge a new fleet of 36 Battery Electric Buses (BEB) – the largest BEB fleet of any Victorian bus operator. This initiative supports the Victorian Government’s target to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

New undercover bays were built to provide weather protection and charging infrastructure was installed for the buses. More than 300 solar panels were also installed to reduce the depot’s carbon footprint and electricity to power the buses is 100% green via a carbon-offset program.

Finalists

Healthy and fair society

Community Champion Winner: Assembled Threads

Assembled Threads creates meaningful, purposeful employment and training for culturally and linguistically diverse garment artisans. It provides a flexible manufacturing hub where no one is hindered by a lack of English or education, or is discriminated against because of age or religion.

It champions locally made, recycled-first uniform options for the construction and health industries, providing practical solutions and supporting companies to be responsible and accountable for the end-of-life stewardship of their uniform procurement pipelines.

Assembled Threads produced a range of hi-vis vests sourced completely from recycled material components and grew its range of scrubs, hoodies and shirts made from locally made fabrics to move towards circular work apparel, saving an estimated 2117.5 kg of emissions associated with textile landfill waste.

Industry Leader Winner: Geelong Sustainability

Geelong Sustainability’s Climate Safe Rooms program offers free home energy upgrades for low-income households where at least one resident received home-care support services for an existing chronic health condition that puts them at risk during heatwaves and extreme cold.

The project upgraded an existing room in the home to prevent uncomfortably hot summer or cold winter temperatures. This was done with draught sealing, insulation, efficient appliances, and renewable energy. The results were a significant improvement in comfort and mental health outcomes, and reduced electricity usage of up to 3,800 kWh per household.

The project reduces the burden on the public health system and contributes to a happier and healthier community.

Finalists

Sustainable places

Community Champion Winner: Brimbank City Council

The Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre is a 100% renewable-energy powered, zero-greenhouse-gas emissions aquatic centre.

An integrated 4-pipe heat pump for simultaneous use in the pool, domestic water, space heating, and cooling is combined with a heat recovery system, a 500 kW onsite rooftop solar PV (photovoltaic) system, and a thermal energy storage system with a capacity of 88,000 L.

Compared to a conventional gas-powered design, the all-electric and renewable-energy-powered centre is 76% more energy-efficient and is modelled to avoid 1,192 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. This is an approximately 17% reduction of council’s overall annual greenhouse gas emissions.

The project challenges the status quo of building and operating energy-intensive, gas-fuelled aquatic centres and provides a working example that can be replicated in Victoria and across Australia.

Industry Leader Winner: Nightingale Housing

Six leading architecture firms came together through Nightingale Housing to acquire the Nightingale Village site in 2017. They shared Nightingale’s goal to reorient the Australian housing market towards providing homes for people rather than as an investor commodity.

The resulting precinct sets a new standard for sustainable, people-centred design. Each firm brings their vision to the site and shares spaces and facilities to ensure the best quality of life for residents and a high standard of environmental sustainability across the precinct.

Nightingale Village is 100% electric and includes 203 homes across 6 buildings, with 8 commercial street-level tenancies and 27 homes allocated to community housing providers ahead of public sales. The precinct also includes 17 small-footprint Teilhaus homes and just 20 car spaces, with 14 reserved for share cars.

Finalists

Thriving environment

Community Champion Winner: My Smart Garden

My Smart Garden is a free sustainable gardening program supporting residents to transform their outdoor spaces, be they small rental balconies or larger suburban gardens, into productive, functional gardens.

My Smart Garden tackles climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource consumption, and increases health and wellbeing through food security, cost-of-living help, improving physical and mental health, and providing social connection.

Participants report that they feel more positive, that My Smart Garden is saving them money, and that the program is influencing other sustainability practices like buying local, cutting food waste, avoiding chemical use, participating in revegetation programs, and reducing consumption.

My Smart Garden is a cross-council collaboration between Hobsons Bay, Moonee Valley, Maribyrnong, Brimbank, Wyndham, Stonnington, Merri-bek, and Yarra City councils.

Industry Leader Winner: Cassinia Environmental

The Natural Agriculture Community model developed by Cassinia Environmental brings agriculture, biodiversity, and community together on a large scale. Cassinia addresses the competing interests of agriculture and biodiversity with a land-management model that maintains agricultural production at scale with enough human resources to maintain and enhance crucial biodiversity.

The project brings people into landscape-management that promote agricultural, nature, and community outcomes, while seeking significant co-benefits around Indigenous aspirations, animal welfare, and carbon.

The model, being developed on Cassinia Environmental's Rokewood property, uses a 'farm covenant' concept to create a binding legal instrument for high-quality conservation on the property. The model encourages community input with multiple ownerships over land, and a collective farming and biodiversity management plan that is effective and efficient.

Finalists

Waste and recycling solutions

Community Champion Winner: Porous Lane

Current impermeable roads contribute to flash flooding. Permeable pavements allow water to pass through the surface, reducing stormwater runoff and pollution in waterways. Current permeable pavements are not suitable for roads, but Porous Lane's cutting-edge solution provides robust, flood-free roads.

Porous Lane diverts Australian waste tyres from landfills by reusing them in an engineered permeable pavement. From 2021 to 2022, the initiative diverted 10,000 Australian waste tyres from landfill, giving them new life by installing more than 3,000 sqm of paths. The tyre waste replaced 50% of virgin material and may reduce greenhouse gas emissions in pavement construction by 40%.

Industry Leader Winner: UPPAREL

UPPAREL is Australia and New Zealand's leader in textile recovery and recycling. Its Textile Recycling Collection Program addresses the fashion industry's impact on the environment by:

  • preventing textiles from reaching landfills
  • extending the lifespan of clothing through efficient sorting and recycling
  • raising awareness about the environmental impact of textile waste.

UPPAREL established a nationwide collection program to intercept textiles before they enter landfills, reducing soil and water contamination and greenhouse gas emissions. Through meticulous manual sorting garments are either reused, repurposed, or recycled, transforming waste into a valuable resource. The program has diverted more than 450,000 kg of textiles from landfill, equating to approximately 2.8 million individual clothing items and the prevention of approximately 1.6 million kg of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.

The initiative also educates the public, promoting responsible options for pre-loved textiles, and encouraging sustainable practices in the fashion industry.

Finalists

Premier's Recognition Award

Winner: Assembled Threads

Assembled Threads creates meaningful, purposeful employment and training for culturally and linguistically diverse garment artisans. It provides a flexible manufacturing hub where no one is hindered by a lack of English or education, or is discriminated against because of age or religion.

It champions locally made, recycled-first uniform options for the construction and health industries, providing practical solutions and supporting companies to be responsible and accountable for the end-of-life stewardship of their uniform procurement pipelines.

Assembled Threads produced a range of hi-vis vests sourced completely from recycled material components and grew its range of scrubs, hoodies and shirts made from locally made fabrics to move towards circular work apparel, saving an estimated 2117.5 kg of emissions associated with textile landfill waste.

Premier's Regional Recognition Award

Winner: Geelong Sustainability

Geelong Sustainability’s Climate Safe Rooms program offers free home energy upgrades for low-income households where at least one resident received home-care support services for an existing chronic health condition that puts them at risk during heatwaves and extreme cold.

The project upgraded an existing room in the home to prevent uncomfortably hot summer or cold winter temperatures. This was done with draught sealing, insulation, efficient appliances, and renewable energy. The results were a significant improvement in comfort and mental health outcomes, and reduced electricity usage of up to 3,800 kWh per household.

The project reduces the burden on the public health system and contributes to a happier and healthier community.