Climate Resilient
Places

Our Emissions Reduction target seeks to minimise stationary and transport emissions through the adoption of energy efficient design, renewable energy infrastructure, transport mode split and parking strategies, and uses incentives to encourage efficient building systems and appliances. The emissions reported are the predicted operational emissions of a masterplan at completion and are calculated using the sustainability modelling tool PRECINX and a NSW metro average baseline of 2016. The global warming potential account factors align to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Act.

In FY20 Tallawong and Hills Showground were sold to the private sector with conditions of sale to deliver on these targets. As contracts have exchanged, however not settled, we have articulated performance results for these as ‘commitments’. When future development planning approvals are provided by relevant consent authorities for these precincts, and Landcom settles on the projects we will report any shift between the commitments made by the proponents, and the actuals achieved.

Across these two sites, the aggregated emissions reduction agreed via contracts of sale is 13%, compared to the metro average. Both sites are relatively constrained, and dominated by high density residential land uses. In isolation this makes it challenging to attain a 50% emissions reduction, however it should be noted the sites are part of the broader SMNW Places program and as more sites are delivered the aggregated average performance is forecast to significantly improve.

Throughout the reporting period Landcom has also continued to engage with the successful proponent of these sites. Through this engagement process, the developer has been able to elevate the BASIX Energy scores from a building code minimum compliance of 25, to a certified 33 for most apartments at Tallawong. The average NatHERS rating for those apartments is also over 7 Stars.

Landcom anticipates that industry demonstration of beyond BASIX compliance will provide market confidence that Landcom’s targets are achievable, and contribute value to developers of high density residential projects.

New projects, or individual precincts within ongoing projects currently in the planning and design stages are also in scope for FY20 reporting.¹⁷ Forecast results include SMNW Places precincts of Kellyville, Bella Vista and Epping precincts, and Edmondson Park with a weighted average GHG emissions reduction of 49%¹⁸ (see Figure 1).

New higher-density projects continue to present the greatest challenge in attaining material emissions reductions, due to the reduced site area and roofspace available to incorporate renewable energy technologies in a cost-effective way.

Over the past year we have dedicated significant effort to improving how high-density projects can respond to emissions reductions. Overall, accounting for commitments made in exchanged projects, and those which remain in our forecast, the comparison represents a 13% improvement.

In FY20 residential dwellings continued to be our most material emissions source, following by transport and non-residential land uses. Non-residential emissions emerged in FY20 as a material emission source due to the inclusion of the Bella Vista precinct which has a considerable portion of non-residential land uses (see Figure 2). In FY21 we will continue to focus on opportunities to further reduce residential and transport emissions.

While our emissions target is designed to address new projects, in FY20 we sought to make a meaningful impact at projects that have already moved through the planning and design phase. In FY19 we launched Landcom’s first Sustainability Rebate at Macarthur Heights, incentivising residents to build sustainable new homes.

The rebate is designed to be a market-based lever to lower emissions and improve the cost of living in established communities, while driving sales (see Case Study: Sustainability Rebate). In FY20 we saw the first claim against this rebate and look forward to seeing ongoing uptake as new homes become eligible during their construction process.

^{17 Performance is based on projected performance for all new Landcom projects, until such time as the delivery or divestment strategy for each project is confirmed. At this time, results will become ‘actuals’.}

^{18 Reduction from the reference case. Landcom chooses to use its PRECINX tool for modelling potable water and Greenhouse Gas emission reductions. 2016 reference case is defined as the normalised relevant metropolitan average applied to a masterplan.}

Green Star, administered by the Green Building Council of Australia, is Landcom’s preferred independent and voluntary rating tool for precincts and built form. Landcom is committed to achieving ‘Australian Best Practice, 5 Star Green Star’ project certifications for all new projects.¹⁹

In FY20 Landcom registered Macarthur Gardens North to pursue a Green Star Communities rating, targeting not less than a 5 Star rating. We anticipate sharing our certified results in the coming reporting year. In addition, SMNW Places precincts Tallawong and Hills Showground were sold to the private sector, and included conditions of sale to achieve this target.

^{19 In some instances, Landcom may seek to use, or require the use of, the Green Star Design & As-Built rating tool.}

Landcom continues to place a high value on transparently reporting our impact on local environments. We are advancing our approach to focus on how we can achieve net positive environmental outcomes, including zero waste communities.

In calculating our waste diversion from landfill target we exclude hazardous waste and contamination volumes from the figures to align more closely with the standards set out in the Green Star rating tools.

In FY20 Landcom we had two projects in scope for reporting against our Waste diversion target. This included Tallawong and Hills Showground, which were all sold to the private sector with conditions of sale to deliver on this target.

Existing Landcom projects that generated waste in FY20 reported a 97% diversion from landfill. The majority of waste was generated at Airds, Lachlan’s Line and Oran Park, with fill (soil) and virgin excavated natural material (VENM) being the most significant recycled materials. As these projects are operating under contracts that pre-date the adoption of our Sustainable Places Strategy, they are technically out of scope, however we are disclosing their waste diversion attainment in FY20 for completeness.

Consistent and accurate waste reporting remains a challenge across the development industry. In FY19 we commenced the development of an online data collection process for waste to mitigate the need for manual ‘paper’ based workflows. The process being developed is part of the Work Health and Safety reporting portal and is in the testing phase. We anticipate moving to user acceptance testing and roll out in FY21.

Landcom views Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) as integral to the sustainable water cycle management of our projects. WSUD can include the rehabilitation and protection of natural waterways, design elements such as wetlands, rain gardens, water harvesting and storage and efficient fittings, and alterative water sources such as recycled or blackwater.

In FY20 Macarthur Gardens North, Edmondson Park and SMNW Places precincts of Tallawong, Hills Showground, Kellyville, Bella Vista and Epping were in scope for reporting against our WSUD target. All projects either achieved or exceeded Landcom’s WSUD targets.

The Macarthur Gardens North site includes a riparian and biodiversity corridor that will undergo enhancement works, with a focused WSUD approach.