Investa has grown from its launch in November 2000 to become Australia’s largest publicly listed owner of office buildings and through the acquisition of Clarendon Property Group in 2005, it is also one of the country’s largest home builders and residential land developers.

“It’s now rare to see a commercial office leasing brief that doesn’t set out specific sustainability requirements,” according to Investa Property Group’s Managing Director, John Arthur. While this is a relatively new phenomenon, it is something Investa has been preparing for since it published its first Sustainability Report in 2003.

Energy and water efficiency

Investa has recognised the compatibility of pursuing greater operational efficiency and better environmental outcomes. Since July 2003 the group has invested A$2.8 million in dedicated water and energy saving projects such as submeters, flow restrictors and lighting controls that are delivering a return on investment in excess of 60%. According to Campbell Hanan, Group Executive –Investment Portfolio, this extraordinary return on investment is far greater than was originally anticipated. “We generally seek a payback on our capital invested in sustainability initiatives of three to five years, but the particularly pleasing outcome for us has been that many of the initiatives have had unbudgeted spin offs, especially the submetering and water saving devices that have also stopped small leaks that over time add up to major volumes,” says Hanan.

Investa prides itself on the strong relationships it has with its tenants and believes its sustainability platform is enhancing those relationships. Rating tools such as Australian Building Greenhouse Rating Scheme (ABGR), National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) and Green Star now exist in the commercial office sector to help tenants identify the water and energy performance of buildings as well as their other environmental and social impacts.

These tools can also be used to evaluate tenancy design and operation and Investa has seized the opportunity to help its tenants achieve better ratings which they can then promote to their staff.

Investa greenhouse guarantee

Investa is helping its tenants reduce greenhouse emissions from their lighting, air conditioning and IT systems via the Investa Greenhouse Guarantee. The guarantee was developed to help those tenants that want to reduce their environmental impacts but lack the necessary resources and expertise by providing a free expert energy audit and a guarantee that, once the improvements are implemented, energy consumption and emissions will not exceed a guaranteed cap. Investa has found that its tenants can save up to A$15 per square metre by adopting its unique Greenhouse Guarantee.

Leadership and awards

Investa has been named Australian Sustainable Company of the Year (2004) by Ethical Investor magazine and received the 2004 Banksia Award for Leadership in Socially Responsible Investment. More recently, its group has been ranked the leading company on the 2007 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) in the Real Estate sector and the global Financial Services supersector.

Contact: Craig Roussac
Telephone: +61 2 8226 9456
Website: www.investa.com.au

Investa's Sustainability Report: http://www.investa.com.au/Sustainability/SustainabilityReport.aspx