A GREEN building in South Melbourne has achieved the highest waste management rating awarded to date through the National Australian Built Environment Rating System, which is a performance-based rating system for existing buildings.
The Szencorp Building at 40 Albert Rd achieved a 4 Star rating, out of a possible 5 Stars.
The Szencorp Building has maintained its position as Australia’s highest rated sustainable building since 2006, having continually achieved 5 Star NABERS ratings for Energy and Water, as well as a 6 Star Green Star Rating for the building’s design from the Green Building Council of Australia.
Szencorp Building owner and developer Peter Szental said the rating, which was launched in mid 2008, required significant effort.
“Our recycling rate is 76.3% and each occupant only produces 303 grams of waste per day, but we need to do better if we want a 5 Star Waste rating,” Szental said. “By our calculations, we need to halve the amount of overall waste produced per person and increase the recycling rate by a further 10% to achieve a 5 Star Waste rating,”
The Szencorp Building already has extensive recycling streams and an ongoing recycling and waste reduction education program for tenants.
When comparing the building’s 2009 waste performance with a waste audit conducted in 2006, excellent improvements have been made. The building’s recycling rate has improved from 67% to 76.3% and contamination in the recycling streams has dropped from 3% to less than 1%.
The Szencorp Building’s 2009 waste audit revealed that each occupant* produces 79kg of waste (landfill and recycling) each year, which is significantly less than the 173kg of waste generated by the average Australian office worker.
Australian Property Journal
