Cardinia Shire's Civic Centre achieves 5-Stars Green Rating
Cardinia Shire Council’s Civic Centre in Officer has achieved a five star Green Star Rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, the national authority on sustainable buildings.
Cardinia Shire Mayor Cr Collin Ross said the achievement is consistent with the Council’s direction to achieve zero net emissions for its operations by 2024 as outlined in its Aspirational Energy Transition Plan.
“Achieving energy efficiency in Council owned and managed buildings is key to ensuring that we limit the impacts of climate change. From installing more efficient lighting to utilising renewable energy sources, the Council and organisation are committed to addressing the challenge presented by these global issues at the local level,” Cr Ross said.
“The Civic Centre’s design and construction is a prime example of forward-planning and strikes a balance between sustainability and cost efficiency. Both Council and the local community will continue to benefit from this innovative approach with significant environmental and financial benefits for many, many years to come.”
The Green Building Council of Australia has four Green Star rating tools and the ‘Design and As Built’ tool focuses on the design and construction of buildings across nine impact categories. Achieving a ‘five star green star office as built v3’ rating, the Civic Centre achieved notable scores in the categories: Management, Energy, Transport, Indoor environmental quality, Water, and Materials.
The key sustainable design features incorporated into the Civic Centre include:
- a natural ventilation mode turning off air conditioning and fans and opening windows when conditions are suitable
- rainwater harvesting
- energy and water efficiency
- electric car charging
- peak load lopping generator reducing the building’s demand on the electricity network during times of peak demand
- central atriums and skylights increasing natural light throughout the building
- the use of sustainable materials.
The sustainable design features of the new Civic Centre save Council money on utility costs, increase staff health and productivity, and provide an example to the growing local community of the benefits of sustainable design.