Our Environmentally Sustainable Development (ESD) Requirements for Council Buildings have been developed to guide the design, construction, renovation, and maintenance of our council buildings.
How we design and construct buildings can affect the natural environment, both directly – by placing buildings and paved surfaces on previously vegetated areas, and indirectly – through extracting resources to create building materials; emitting greenhouse gases in the manufacturing and transportation of materials to the site; and through using water and energy sources such as electricity once the building is operating.
Sustainable building design is about reducing these impacts by designing and constructing buildings that are appropriate for our changing climate, have minimal environmental impacts, and are healthy and comfortable for building users.
We have a renewed vision for our building assets, they:
- use less energy, potable water and produce less carbon emissions over their life
- are powered by renewables
- are built and furnished with recycled content materials
- improve resilience to the local impacts of climate change
- create comfortable/healthy places for people that showcase connection between the built and natural environments
Six key principles guide the development of our buildings:
Passive design | Building form and design must respond to the local micro climate. Optimise passive design principles to minimise operational energy and water needs, carbon emissions and peak energy demand. |
Energy efficiency and low carbon emissions | Energy efficient, all-electric buildings, powered by renewable energy. No new gas connections. |
Climate resilient design | Plan for resilience of buildings and their surrounds, through reducing heat island effects and considering climate change impacts on each building (rainfall, heatwaves, flooding, drought). |
Water conservation | Water efficient fixtures, connecting to recycled stormwater or alternative water supplies where possible. |
Health and wellbeing | Consider health and wellbeing of occupants through provision of high quality indoor environments to support wellbeing. |
Sustainable materials | Choose local, durable, recycled content, recyclable, low toxicity and low embodied energy construction and fit out materials. |
While developed specifically for application in council buildings, these guidelines can also be used as a general reference for design and construction of commercial buildings, and households, in our City.
Our progress
We’re on our path to Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Our Council buildings play a key role in working towards this goal.
The Beverley Centre, our second main administration building and Depot home to our Field teams, is leading the way.
The centre is now all electric. We installed a 50kW solar PV system and transitioned the Depot to an all-electric facility. We replaced old gas heaters in the workshop with energy efficient electric models and repositioned them to provide heat more effectively. We upgraded an old gas hot water heater to an efficient electric heat pump system. Our energy efficiency has improved through LED lighting upgrades in the workshop area, replacing old and inefficient fridges with a leading 6 star energy rated fridge in the staff kitchens, and replenished insulation to improve effectiveness of our Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system.
These measures have almost halved our annual electricity use at Beverley Centre and reduced overall consumption by approximately 100,000kWh.
The enhanced lighting in the area also makes working in the space more comfortable for staff and supports employee health and wellbeing.
Electrifying our facilities, homes and the transport we use is an important part of our collective climate action. The aim of electrification is to replace technologies that require combustion with alternatives that run on renewable electricity. This is the cheapest, fastest route to reduce emissions.
Three new solar power systems were installed in 2023 at Hindmarsh Library, Arch Patterson Community Centre and The Brocas Youth Space to join a list of 19 Council facilities now harnessing solar energy.
This ongoing commitment to renewable energy sources assists us to operate sustainably, reducing our impact on the environment and lowering operating costs amongst a host of other benefits.
The Aquatic Reserve redevelopment provides a new standard for environmentally sustainable design in our CIty.
The revamped clubrooms are the first building project to use our Environmentally Sustainable Development (ESD) Requirements for Council Buildings, which help us meet our greenhouse has emissions reduction targets, build climate resilience and support the circular economy.
More information
Environmental Management Officer (Energy and Climate Change)
Anna Rogers
arogers@charlessturt.sa.gov.au