Saving paper, trees and the environment - Development Victoria certified for carbon neutral operations

Development Victoria, the Victorian Government’s property developer, is helping make Victoria greener with news it has been awarded certification from the Australian Government’s  Climate Active initiative.

The agency has achieved net-zero emissions in 2019-20 - a major milestone in its quest to become a leader in reducing carbon emissions.

“We have developed a sustainability strategy which has set impressive goals to help mitigate climate change and make life better for our projects and our communities,” Development Victoria’s Chief Executive Officer Angela Skandarajah said.

The carbon neutral status – which applies to Development Victoria’s head office - is also an important step towards meeting the goals of the Victorian Government’s Climate Change Act 2017 which sets a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the state by 2050.

Introducing paperless real estate contracts for its housing projects has been a key driver in achieving the certification, with the Riverwalk housing project alone saving around 300,000 A4 sheets of paper – the equivalent of approximately 20 Australian Blue Gum trees.

Other initiatives of the emissions reduction strategy include staff education, improving the efficiency of IT systems, and a review of electricity use which accounts for close to 60 percent of the organisation’s carbon emissions.

Carbon offset credits were also purchased from the Wollert Landfill Gas project to achieve net-zero emissions.

“We have set ambitious targets of delivering carbon-neutral developments by 2030 and have introduced a range of initiatives across the business to achieve this goal,” Ms Skandarajah said.

“We also have a strong legacy of delivering sustainable construction and developments, including Margaret Court Arena being the first in the country to achieve LEED Gold Certification, and a 60 per cent reduction of the power used to light Flinders Street Station.”