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Our commitment to sustainability

At Development Victoria we’re taking action on climate change, with a strong and clear commitment to creating a sustainable future for our staff, the community and all Victorians. 

Our aim is to ensure we leave a strong legacy across all our work, through sustainable development and construction and nothing less than best practice.

In 2020, we confirmed this commitment in an overarching sustainability strategy. It consolidates our previous work and sets new goals in line with state statutory policy obligations, industry best practice, and global trends. 

Sustainability is a focus for us all with clear accountability for our performance at both an organisational and project level.

It means we are doing everything we can to create a more sustainable future, for us all. 


Sustainability news

View all
24 August 2022 Acoustic wall is sustainably fantastic, made from recycled plastic
30 June 2022 Meeting the challenges of climate change - Development Victoria certified carbon neutral
20 August 2021 People profile - Clare Parry

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Our sustainability strategy

Our sustainability strategy has been developed to clearly articulate our commitment to sustainability and to deliver real and consistent outcomes. 

Our sustainability goals

These goals are critically aligned to our core values - collaboration, innovation and delivery. These define and shape how we work at Development Victoria.

  • Deliver best practice
  • Carbon neutral by 2030
  • Invest in transformation

The targets, approaches, and implementation plans contained in the strategy are the result of six months of organisational investigation, project testing, industry bench-marking, and relationship building both internal and external to our organisation. 

We will embed a consistent best practice approach across our entire portfolio. This will set a baseline for our projects and is a starting point for alignment with our project partners across government. Our approach has been designed to be easily integrated into existing ways of working and work with other government policies and guidelines.
 
The requirements of this goal have been tested against industry performance, Victorian Government policy and on our own projects.

Themes covered under this goal include: resilience; circular economy; integrated water cycle; biodiversity; energy and emissions; affordability; healthy living; access to amenity; and, diversity. 


This is a direct response to the Victorian Climate Change Act 2017, which sets a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050 for the state. The Act also addresses climate change and climate adaptation.

We will align with our private sector partners and the trajectory of the Green Building Council of Australia to deliver carbon neutral developments by 2030, and we will achieve organisational carbon neutrality in 2020.


We will take a more formal, structured approach to innovation and respond to Victoria’s Value Creation and Capture Framework (VCC) and key strategic priorities for Government and our development partners.

This goal is focused on leadership and supporting market transformation. We will identify collaboration opportunities and partnerships early in projects and seek to amplify outcomes in delivery. 

Our role presents a unique opportunity to engage with the private sector and government to research and test new ideas to support a market transformation towards a more sustainable economy. 

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At Development Victoria, we’re creating a more sustainable future for all Victorians.

Our developments use water-sensitive urban design to deliver social and environmental benefits for local flora, fauna, and the community – creating smart, adaptable, beautiful places where both people and the environment can thrive.

Our water-sensitive design sees stormwater as a resource, not a burden, and uses it to create urban environments where the water cycle functions naturally.

For more than two decades, Development Victoria has been delivering water-sensitive design initiatives at projects like Jawbone Reserve, Cairnlea, Officer, and Aurora.

Read about plans to build a new wetland system at Knoxfield

The benefits of water-sensitive urban design


  • reducing the volume of stormwater entering waterways to mitigate floods
  • improving water quality downstream in rivers and bays by filtering pollutants 
  • reducing reliance on drinking water to irrigate green spaces
  • enhancing the social and environmental amenity of the urban landscape
  • improving biodiversity by expanding and diversifying habitats
  • decreasing the ‘urban heat island’ effect by increasing irrigation capacity, soil moisture and, green space
  • reducing capital and maintenance costs for stormwater systems

Development Victoria’s commitment to water-sensitive design is enshrined in our sustainability strategy, our responsibilities under the Water Act (1989), and the Victorian Government’s Water for Victoria plan.

Find out more about the extensive wetlands that save around 160,000 kilolitres of drinking water each year at Cairnlea

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Aurora

Aurora is Victoria’s first master-planned 6-star energy efficient community and maximises sustainability and reduces greenhouse emissions through the following measures:
  • Water sensitive urban design using swales and rain gardens in streetscapes and public reserves
  • Regeneration and enhancement of Edgars Creek waterway throughout the development and habitat conservation and enhancement of endangered and protected flora and fauna
  • Third (purple) pipe infrastructure, delivering recycled water to all homes and public amenities
  • Passive solar design to maximise natural resources and reduce energy consumption in homes
  • Solar hot water systems to all homes and solar power infrastructure to parklands
  • 4 and 5-star heating, cooling and appliances, and AAA efficient water fixtures to homes

Find out more

Melbourne Park Redevelopment

The Melbourne Park redevelopment has delivered four LEED Gold certified buildings so far – Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena, the National Tennis Centre and the Tennis HQ administration building. LEED certification continues to be a goal for redevelopment building program with the Centrepiece Function Centre currently under construction also expected to achieve LEED Gold status.

The project’s sustainability achievements include:
  • 13.5 per cent reduction in electricity use across Melbourne Arena, Margaret Court Arena and Rod Laver Arena during the Australian Open period as a result of mechanical plant optimisation initiatives; 
  • approximately 19 million litres of water saved and reused annually through rainwater harvesting and treatment facilities, including a new underground 4.5 megalitre stormwater retention tank; and, 
  • an emphasis on green spaces across the site, including planting of trees to provide shade, garden beds and grassed areas.

Find out more

LUMA Sunshine North

Setting a benchmark in sustainable living, every home at LUMA features solar panels and battery storage to help reduce their carbon footprint and energy bills.

LUMA‘s townhouses aim to provide a cost-effective sustainable alternative that optimises solar energy consumption and reduces reliance on inefficient, carbon-intensive power sources such as brown coal.

By using sonnenBatterie in conjunction with an intelligent solar photo-voltaic (PV) system, up to 80% of a typical household’s yearly energy requirement could be self-produced (sonnen.com.au, March 2020). This allows residents to reduce the energy cost to a minimum.

Some of the other benefits of sonnenBatterie system are:

  • Power when you need it;
  • Reduced grid energy dependency, and,
  • Energy storage

Find out more

LOGIS

Dandenong LOGIS is Victoria’s first integrated eco-industrial business park. 

Developed by Development Victoria as a joint venture with landowner Melbourne Water, LOGIS sets a new benchmark for high quality architecture, superior urban design, outstanding amenity and sustainability in industrial developments with Australia.

Located in Dandenong South on 154 hectares of remediated land, LOGIS is a unique, premium master-planned development incorporating architecturally designed buildings, planned open space, landscape design, recreational facilities and sustainability initiatives.

Parkville Gardens

Parkville Gardens is a housing development on a 20ha site in Parkville, formerly the site of the Athletes’ Village for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. It was also the former site of the Royal Park mental health facility.

When complete Parkville Gardens will include:
  • Approximately 1,600 dwellings, of which 20% will be dedicated social housing
  • The retention and refurbishment of heritage buildings
  • The creation of wetlands and new parklands
The project has also allowed the Victorian Government to put into practice its policies on environmentally sustainable design, social housing, disabled access and community services.

Design and construction of the development has focused on minimising its ecological footprint.

Key environmental features to date include:
  • Six-star energy ratings for all houses
  • Use of plantation timber and recycled building materials
  • Rainwater collection and recycling
  • Sensor lighting and solar boosted hot water systems
  • Planting of 1,000 trees

Find out more here

Riverwalk

The relocation of the Werribee Treatment Plant in the late 1990s left 197ha of land on the banks of the Werribee River available for redevelopment.

Melbourne Water engaged Development Victoria to unlock the site’s potential and create a new neighbourhood that would embrace the natural surroundings.

Development Victoria is working with Melbourne Water to include a range of sustainability initiatives at Riverwalk, including stormwater harvesting and recycled water for garden watering and toilet flushing.

In 2018 Riverwalk became an EnviroDevelopment certified project — a nationally-recognised achievement from the Urban Development Institute of Australia. The certification recognises outcomes across six areas of sustainability: water, ecosystems, community, waste, materials and energy.

Find out more here

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Updated on 26 May 2023