Sustainability

Our commitment and approach

Charter Hall Office REIT is committed to integrating sustainable practices across its business.

Improving the efficiency of our properties and contributing to healthy working environments is an essential part of management's focus.

As occupiers become more conscious of their impact on the environment, greater emphasis is being placed on securing sustainable office space.  Our commitment to sustainability should increase the attractiveness of our buildings, improving customer demand and helping to align Trust and tenant goals.

We are developing and implementing programs to reduce our use of resources across the portfolio. Targets to improve the energy efficiency of the portfolio and reduce its carbon footprint have now been set.

Sustainability recognised

Since June 2007 - REIT listed on the FTSE4Good.

Since December 2008 - REIT listed on Australian SAM Sustainability index (AuSSI). These listings reflect the achievement of global corporate responsibility standards.

Our sustainability program focuses on four key focus areas.  We believe that by tackling these issues and seeking to improve our performance, we will contribute to a more sustainable outcome.

Resource conservation

• Energy use
  - We aim to promote efficient use of energy in all managed properties
  - We aim to achieve an average 4.5 star NABERS energy rating across the Australian portfolio by 2012
  - We aim to achieve Energy Star ratings for all eligible US properties by 2012
• Water use
  - We aim to promote efficient use of water in all managed properties

Waste management

• We aim to reduce waste disposed to landfill in all managed assets

Climate change

• We aim to reduce our exposure to climate change

Stakeholder engagement

• We aim to encourage our customers to support and contribute to the sustainability initiatives in our properties
• We encourage our asset, facilities and property managers to support and contribute to our sustainability initiatives

Energy use

NABERS Energy Rating improved over 3 years from 3.6 to 4.4 stars 

Actively managing energy consumption has continued to deliver energy savings across the Australian portfolio with an 8% reduction in the energy intensity of the Australian portfolio in the year to June 2010. Smart metering has been installed across the majority of the Australian portfolio and a program has been initiated to upgrade or improve the performance of building management systems globally.

NABERS Energy Rating

We have committed to achieve an average NABERS Energy Rating of 4.5 stars across the Australian portfolio by 2012 under the Total Environment Centre existing buildings project.  The Trust's Australian assets improved their rating to an average of 4.4 stars in 2009 with 68% achieving 4.5 stars or more.  Action plans to achieve our target of an average NABERS Energy Rating of 4.5 stars have been developed for each property.

In the US, ten properties have achieved Energy Star ratings and the Trust is actively working towards ratings for all eligible properties within the US portfolio by 2012.

 Examples:

• 59 Goulburn Street, Sydney was awarded funding from the Federal Government's Green Building Fund.
• The Trust installed a new building management system to assist in the control and monitoring of the buildings mechanical and electrical equipment. These measures plus improved lighting controls, sub-metering and an energy monitoring system have helped reduce energy consumption since 2007/08 by about 17%.
• Refer to our case studies for examples of energy saving initiatives in the US portfolio.

Water use

34% reduction in water consumption achieved across the Australian portfolio since 2002

By raising tenant awareness and working with building managers, our water conservation performance has continued to improve.  The Trust participated in a number of schemes including the 'Water Conservation Solutions Program' in Melbourne and the Sydney Water 'Every Drop Counts' program, where a 5 star rating has been achieved.

Since 2002, we have saved an equivalent of the water used in approximately 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools in the Australian portfolio.

Examples:

• Approximately 16 million litres of water has been saved at 5 Queens Road, Melbourne since 2002 when water saving initiatives commenced, equivalent to approximately 6 Olympic-sized swimming pools.  Initiatives include installation of drift eliminators on cooling towers, tuning of the building HVAC system, and installation of low flow devices on taps and sanisleeves on urinals.
• Water conservation at Promenade II, Atlanta is expected to result in an annual saving of approximately 7.5 million litres of drinking water, which is the equivalent of approximately 3 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This will be achieved through the use of ground water and rain water captured on site for irrigation and supplementary supply for the cooling tower.

Waste management

Improving our waste management practices

Working in consultation with tenants, a program was recently implemented to monitor and track waste generation and to encourage recycling to reduce the quantity of waste sent to landfill. In the year to June 2010, more than 50% of waste generated was diverted from landfill.

Examples:

• During the recent refurbishment at NCR House, North Sydney, waste to landfill was reduced by over 50%.
• At Chase Tower, Indianapolis in the US, a one million square foot 'e-cycling' program was initiated. Tenants are now able to recycle rather than dispose of old computer components, preventing approximately 11 tonnes of computer equipment from being sent to landfill.
• In the first quarter of 2009, tenants at 59 Goulburn Street, Sydney have recycled over 72% of waste.

Climate change

Australian portfolio reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 8% during the year.

Stakeholder engagement

As tenants become more conscious of their impact on the environment, greater emphasis is being placed on securing sustainable office space. We work actively with our customers to create healthy work environments and to jointly become more resource efficient.

We believe that working with our customers will help to align the Trust's and our customers' sustainability objectives and contribute to the Trust's improving performance.

We are currently implementing programs to:

1. encourage our customers to reduce the environmental footprint of their tenancies
2. provide more detailed information to our tenants on the environmental footprint of their building
3. increase awareness and actively monitor and provide a healthy work environment for our customers.

Effective implementation of our sustainability program can only be achieved through our facilities, asset and property managers.  We are working with our service providers to ensure that they understand and contribute to improving our performance.

Charter Grove, St Leonards attains top energy rating

Charter Grove at St Leonards obtained a 5 star NABERS Energy Rating and 4 star NABERS Water Rating in 2008. making the building one of the Trust's high achievers. This result was achieved through an active management approach combined with upgrade and refurbishment works.

The works included:

• installation of a new building management system in 2004/05, combined with effective use of economy cycles
• installation of smart metering on all major plant and equipment for electricity and water consumption monitoring
• monthly utility monitoring using energy and water specialists to identify and respond to consumption anomalies
• proactive maintenance program that supports the monthly utility monitoring program
• installation of variable speed drives on all air handling units
• installation of low flow water fittings.

Charter Grove, St Leonards

Saving energy in Wells Fargo Center

Energy efficiency is a core building management commitment at the Wells Fargo Center in Denver, US. The property obtained the highest energy performance rating for the portfolio under the US EPA Energy Star scheme, being 46%  below the average emissions for a US office building. Our latest project at this 52-storey office tower is the replacement of the elevator drive and control systems with the latest technology. A revolutionary new green solution for tall buildings, the regenerative elevator drive system is the most energy efficient and innovative drive system currently available. It will realise energy savings of approximately 40% over the previous drive system while providing our tenants with superior ride quality.  When combined with the latest elevator control system and increased efficiency from the destination based elevator dispatching system, our tenants will experience a much faster and comfortable journey in our elevators.

Wells Fargo Center

Innovative lighting lights up the SunTrust Center