[+] Net-Zero Nation Building: Industry Push or Policy Shove?

The big push is on for Australia to become a net-zero nation and there is no question a lot of the heavy lifting will need to be done by the property development sector. The construction and operating of buildings accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. But so far the industry has been slow to grab the barbell for the transition to achieve the Australian Government’s targeted net-zero emissions by 2050. And according to industry experts, it is a hard sell given the prevailing industry challenges and the push will likely need to come to policy shove. “Definitely, I think we’re going to need a lot of policy to drive this change,” quantity surveying group Mitchell Brandtman partner Maoibh Russell told a panel discussion at The Urban Developer’s flagship Urbanity conference on the Gold Coast. “We’re looking at DAs every day for new developments and there’s nothing in them at the moment about net zero. “So I think for people to have to make a change it is going to have to be enforced.” But she quickly adds: “At the moment, developers are finding it very expensive just to build what they’re currently doing without the additional factor of net-zero building”. Joe Grasso, founder of Melbourne-based construction group Figurehead, agrees. ▲ Figurehead founder Joe Grasso, Mitchell Brandtman partner Maoibh Russell and Hip v Hype’s Gavin Ashley with The Urban Developer’s Taryn Paris [left] during the panel. “We’re a fair way behind as an industry,” he says. “But there’s definitely not enough incentive at the moment. Ask all the developers out there how they’re being incentivised to go down these pathways. They’re just not. “And market conditions are just so tough. “It’s so hard to run a construction site these days and has been for the last few years, that it’s difficult to get outside of just surviving and into this [net-zero] world.” However, Figurehead has proven it can be done with the delivery of its 11-storey carbon-neutral office building 116 Rockeby at inner-city Melbourne’s Collingwood. ‘Unfeasible ’ Asked how he made the project’s feasibility stack, Grasso pulled no punches: “We didn’t.” “It’s a long-term asset hold for us,” he says “It’s our own building. It’s our new corporate head office. So there was a different mindset around how we structured our feasibility. “But simply, it probably cost us circa 15 to 20 per cent more to go down the path of a 5.5 NABERS sustainability rating and then having a platinum WELLS certification, which we wanted to make sure we got the best outcome for our other occupants. “But if you were doing it on a build-to-sell basis it would be unfeasible.” ▲ Renders of Figurehead’s 11-storey carbon-neutral office building in Melbourne. Gavin Ashley, the director of sustainability for Melbourne-based developer Hip V Hype, says the “big one” that will challenge the industry over the next 10 years will be embodied carbon. “[That is] how we can not only focus on the use phase but the construction emissions that got us there,” he says. “That’s the challenge ahead.” It is forecast Australia’s upfront carbon emissions will balloon from 16 per cent to 85 per cent of overall building emissions by 2050 if the industry fails to “make better choices” around the materials it builds with and its construction processes. Ashley says that over the next decade “a big move back to timber construction” would likely help achieve emissions targets. Concrete alternative But Grasso says the buzz in the building world is all about “green concrete”. An alternative to traditional concrete, it incorporates recycled or waste materials as substitutes for cement and aggregates, making it more sustainable and reducing its carbon footprint. Its use has been gaining traction around the world, including in the construction of the Louvre Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. In Australia, it has so far replaced traditional concrete in more than 60 projects. “There’s a huge push going forward with green concrete as well as making sure that we’re getting the right results through all of the process that’s required to get a concrete truck to site, and what we can do to better all that,” Grasso says. ▲ SoGreen concrete is gaining ground globally, including in the construction of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. According to a report by engineering firm Hatch, replacing just 50 per cent of traditional concrete with green concrete could cut Australia’s carbon emissions by about 17 million tonnes annually—the equivalent of removing four million cars from the road. It also found that although versions of green concrete may be 5 to 20 per cent more expensive, the cost premium “almost vanishes” to 0.5 to 1.4 per cent when the total installed cost is considered. “We’ve definitely got the skills,” Russell adds. “It’s also just a matter of builders getting used to dealing with different products because they like to use what’s comfortable to them.” Clarity, flexibility But Grasso also notes: “There isn’t really anything that’s mandatory. The NCC [National Construction Code] doesn’t really apply any mandatory requirements when it comes to this sort of stuff. So that’s maybe the next step.” Meanwhile, Ashley points out that any policy changes to accelerate Australia’s path to becoming a net-zero nation need to recognise industry capacity. “It needs to be performance based,” he says. “If we can be really clear about the performance that we’re asking of buildings and precincts but leave flexibility in the hands of the really capable kind of development industry. “That’s ultimately the way to get what we want, but also do it for the least cost, because each project can adopt strategies that are best fit for that particular site.” You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

[+] Net-Zero Nation Building: Industry Push or Policy Shove?

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