This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
WALKER Corporation has secured green loans from a pair of major lenders for its Parramatta Square and Collins Square projects.
The 3 and 4 Parramatta Square, within the $3.2 billion Parramatta project, and the mixed-use Melbourne development have earned six-star energy ratings that allowed them to meet the criteria for the loans from the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ.
“Green loans are a mutual win-win for companies and communities as we all work together to make our planet more sustainable,” Walker Corporation executive chairman Lang Walker said.
“We are proud to have our flagship commercial buildings in Parramatta and Melbourne leading the way in environmental standards which gives us access to the green finance market.”
RICS research shows more than half of property players believe that green and sustainable buildings achieve a rent and a price premium. More than one-third believe that the rent and price premium stands at up to 10%; around 15% judge it to be higher still.
Hybrid working is actually seeing corporate Australia’s carbon emissions climb, according to Cushman & Wakefield, with emissions from Australians working-from-home outweighing those lowered emissions from commercial buildings.
“Walker Corporation is to be commended for its commitment to developing best-in-class sustainable, energy-efficient urban infrastructure that will be used and enjoyed by current and future generations of Australians,” said Andrew Hinchliff, group executive of institutional banking and markets at Commonwealth Bank.
CBA expanded its suite of sustainability loans at the beginning of this month – commercial property owners may be able to increase their investment loan by up to 20% to complete upgrades that achieve a NABERS rating improvement or reduce the asset’s carbon emissions.
The major lender recently launched its Green Loan for up to 600,000 customers, and has partnered with Royal Adelaide Hospital operator Celsus and Queensland beef producer Stockyard Group for sustainability-linked loans.
