Laying the foundation for Australia’s first Social Infrastructure Green Star rating tool

A key part of our sustainability framework is to deliver responsible outcomes across all our property portfolios.

With Australia’s largest Green Star footprint and a strategy in place for our Office, Industrial & Logistics and Shopping Centre Retail portfolios, we are now focused on our strategy with our Social Infrastructure portfolio.

“We’re looking to elevate our sustainability credentials across our entire Social Infrastructure portfolio,” says Travis Butcher, Fund Manager of Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT.

In the past, these assets have been leased under an arrangement whereby operations and maintenance are the responsibility of our tenant customers. This has been a barrier to achieving sustainability ratings like Green Star and hinders accessing operational performance data. A new partnership with Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) will change this.

For the first time, Green Star will provide this sector with a foundational platform to apply an independent rating tool to measure and benchmark performance.

“We expect the new Green Star Performance tool for Social Infrastructure assets will lower operational costs for our tenant customers and create new opportunities for them to attract talent and customers,” says Andrew Cole, Group Head of ESG at Charter Hall.

“People are increasingly seeking workplaces that prioritise communities and mitigate climate change, rather than contributing to the problem. Attracting and retaining quality workers has been a challenge for the childcare industry, but we anticipate this new rating tool will deliver positive results,” adds Travis.

Air quality and environmental sustainability are important qualities considered by parents when assessing childcare options. Green Star certification has the potential to give participating centres an edge against their competitors. Laying the foundation for Australia’s first Social Infrastructure Green Star rating tool The impact of climate change is an ongoing consideration not just for workers and families, but also for our tenant customers. Building climate resilience into our Social Infrastructure portfolio provides significant benefits to our tenant customers, investors and communities. According to the GBCA, analysis of Green Star certified assets such as community centres, libraries and civic buildings shows an average saving of $100,000 per year in energy bills, enabling those funds to be reinvested into essential services.

Onsite and offsite renewable energy is a priority for for our portfolio. The Social Infrastructure REIT has committed up to $8.6 million in solar funding across its assets.

The peak operational hours of childcare providers are during daylight hours, so onsite renewable energy sources such as solar offer opportunities to lower costs and mitigate climate change. “We’re looking forward to working with our tenant customers to navigate the transition from fossil fuel reliant energy, while improving water conservation and reuse,” Andrew says.