Taking action towards a low-carbon future

As a real estate owner, manager and developer, we recognise we can make a valuable contribution towards a low-carbon future. In December 2019, we partnered with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) on a $75 million debt facility to help deliver on our 2030 Net Zero Commitment for our Retirement Living and Industrial portfolio, and for our Corporate Head Offices. This relates to our World Green Building Council Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.

This agreement will help Stockland to deliver a series of renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon homes projects, enabling us to continue to innovate and transform the industry, while continuing to be recognised as a market leader in sustainability.

One of the key deliverables of the agreement is the installation of solar across our Logistics and Retirement Living assets, with the objective of establishing an inter-asset energy trading platform to enable us to achieve our 2030 net zero commitment.

This will enhance our generation capacity, allow us to offset our emissions internally and make our assets more resilient to future shocks and stresses. We have engaged an external consultant to help us better understand how we can establish the inter-asset energy trading platform.We continue to review opportunities to install solar across our operational assets. These projects not only help with meeting our CEFC objective, but they also help to promote low-carbon technology and educate residents and the community on the environmental and economic benefits renewables can offer.

By the end of FY20 we had completed a further 2.3MW of solar PV capacity, including our largest logistics installation of 770kW at Yennora Distribution Centre. This brings our total solar operational capacity to 18MW, with the capacity to generate approximately 24GWh in renewable energy annually.

In addition to our formal net zero commitment, we are collaborating with our customers and builder partners to support a low-carbon transition in the residential sector. In partnership with Sustainability Victoria and Creation Homes we delivered a certified Zero Net Carbon Home at our Orion project.

Stockland is also collaborating with the CEFC to deliver low-carbon homes at our Highlands development in Victoria. Of the 72 homes that were offered a 5kW solar PV, battery and inverter system, 42 homes accepted the offer and have had their installations completed. We are aiming for 10 of these homes to achieve the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard in partnership with the GBCA, an outcome made possible by our dedicated project team, including partner builders and suppliers who continue to challenge the status quo. This industry-first certification will set an important precedent for what is possible for future sustainable homes, not just positively impacting environmental performance but helping to ensure Stockland creates healthy, safe and resilient homes for our customers.