29 NOVEMBER 2011
The CitySwitch WA Signatory of the Year has been awarded to law firm Lavan Legal for its achievements in office energy efficiency.
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi announced the winner at the annual CitySwitch Progress Report held today in Council House. The event celebrated the program’s achievements in commercial office energy efficiency.
Lavan Legal won the CitySwitch Signatory of the Year (over 2,000 square metres) after achieving 2-star NABERS Energy Tenancy Rating (without green power), 1 star higher that its 2009 rating. Their goal is to achieve their CitySwitch commitment of 4 stars.
The Lord Mayor acknowledged that saving energy is not always as simple as it appears and the journey may take some time to complete. She said the award recognised and rewarded those who have not yet achieved their energy goal but have commenced their journey and are making a difference.
Lavan Legal employs more than 200 people and is committed to working with industry and the community to understand and minimise the firm’s impact on the environment. Part of this commitment is a desire to become a carbon neutral firm.
Lavan Legal’s environmental initiatives are a continual and evolving process and demonstrate their commitment by substantial emissions reduction. Projects undertaken recently include installation of after-hours lighting sensors and replacement of PCs and LCD monitors with ‘thin’ client machines and LED monitors. An office ‘green team’ was formed to change firm policy, raise staff awareness and increase participation.
Lavan Legal has recently become a member of the Australian Legal Sector Alliance promoting sustainability.
The judges commended recently joined signatory Central Park Management for its demonstrated commitment to reducing energy consumption by installing motion sensors and replacing dichroic low voltage downlights with LED downlights.
Central Park is proactive in advocating best practices for their tenants and promoting sustainability in their building.
The NABERS energy rating is an industry recognised tool, to assist tenants benchmark their greenhouse performance. Ratings range from 1 to 6, with 6 stars representing market-leading performance in energy efficiency.
The CitySwitch program began in 2006 in NSW and was expanded in June 2008 to include the major Australian cities including the City of Perth. It is now Australia’s leading office energy efficiency program.
CitySwitch Signatories in the City of Perth now represent 214,000 sq metres of office space across 41 office tenancies.
Marco Marcello of Lavan Legal
receives the CitySwitch Signatory of
the Year (WA) award as presented
by City of Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi.
30 SEPTEMBER 2011
The City of Perth has announced matched funding grants for NABERS assessments for new CitySwitch signatories in the 2011/12 financial year.
The City of Perth is offering a grant to help meet the cost of a NABERS Energy assessment, a condition of joining CitySwitch. The City is offering 50 per cent of the cost of the baseline assessment to a maximum value of $1000.
All commercial office tenants within the city of Perth who become Signatories to CitySwitch from 1 September 2011 are eligible for a matched funding grant. This will exclude government departments and organisations that are able to undertake self-assessments. Funding is limited and grants will be processed in the order they are received by the City of Perth.
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi says she is pleased with the progress of the CitySwitch Green Office program, which had been championed by the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors. So far there are 37 Signatories signed up to the program across the City of Perth.
"As a capital city we are progressing well with this initiative, with almost 200,000 sqm of net lettable commercial office floor area accounted for by signatory companies. That represents some 10 per cent of overall net lettable area in the City"
"These grants will hopefully give the scheme something of a kick start."
For further details please contact Program Manager Margaret Collingwood on 08 9461 3131 or email margaret.collingwood@cityofperth.wa.gov.au
16 NOVEMBER 2010
On 16 November, the inaugural CitySwitch WA Signatory of the Year was awarded to architects Cameron Chisholm Nicol and engineering consultancy Wood & Grieve Engineers for their achievements in office energy efficiency.
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi announced the winners at the annual CitySwitch Progress Report, held in Council House, which celebrated the program’s achievements in commercial office energy efficiency.
Cameron Chisholm Nicol won the CitySwitch Signatory of the Year under 2000 sqm after achieving 4.5 star NABERS Energy tenancy rating, half a star higher than their CitySwitch Commitment.
A leader in the provision of integrated sustainable architecture, urban design and interior design services, Cameron Chisholm Nicol has undertaken a program of cultural change to facilitate their commitment to energy efficiency and carbon neutral operations. This has recently been recognised at the Australian Institute of Architects Awards in WA with the Sustainable Architecture Award for their head office fitout.
Wood & Grieve Engineers were awarded CitySwitch Signatory of the Year over 2000 sqm. Wood & Grieve Engineers is a national engineering consultancy with services including civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and ESD.
With Wood & Grieve Engineers actively maximising sustainability with design for their clients and providing advice and solutions it seemed only fitting that Wood & Grieve Engineers would also aim to maximise the sustainability of their own tenancy. Wood & Grieve Engineers achieved a 2.5 NABERS Energy tenancy rating, 1 star higher than their 2009 rating. Their goal is to achieve their CitySwitch commitment of 4 stars.
The Lord Mayor acknowledged saving energy is not always as simple as it appears and the journey may take some time to completion. This award is testament that the CitySwitch program does recognise and reward those who have not achieved their goal but have commenced their journey and are making a difference.
The NABERS energy rating is an industry-recognised tool to assist tenants benchmark their greenhouse performance. Ratings range from 1 to 5, with 5 stars representing an exceptionally high level of energy efficiency.
The CitySwitch program began in 2006 in NSW and was expanded in June 2008 to include the major Australian cities, including the City of Perth. It is now Australia’s leading office energy efficiency program.
CitySwitch Signatories in the City now represents 184,000 sqm of office space across 28 office tenancies. Through energy efficiency measures in their offices their effort and commitment has led to an estimated saving of approximately 848 tonnes of C02 emissions per annum.
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi presented Dominic
Snellgrove of Cameron Chisholm Nicol the
WA Signatory of the Year award.
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi presented Prasanna
Suraweera of Wood & Grieve Engineers the
23 FEBRUARY 2010
The City of Perth has placed an advertisement in the Energising WA supplement in The West Australian to thank all CitySwitch Signatories for their support of the program and environmental leadership.
The advertisement was published on 24 February on page 55 and can be viewed here >
CitySwitch sincerely thanks all Signatories Australia-wide for their commitment to improving energy efficiency.
1 SEPTEMBER 2009
The City of Perth has recently purchased Power Mate digital power meters to assist organisations understand how they can make their tenancies more energy efficient.
Power meters measure energy use and calculate running costs of individual appliances, allowing users to closely monitor their energy efficiency performance.
The meters will be made available to new CitySwitch Signatories (for a limited time) to support them in improving their NABERS star rating.
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5 JUNE 2009
The City of Perth congratulated and thanked signatories participating in our successful CitySwitch initiative by placing an advertisement in the 'West Australian' newspaper on 5th June in the in the World Environment Day lift-out. View the advertisement here > ^top^
2 APRIL 2009
A Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Perth and the Sustainable Energy Development Office (SEDO) was publicly acknowledged at the third CitySwitch Café Series event held in March at Ecucina Restaurant. Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi joined Michael Kerr, Executive Director of SEDO, in accepting the framed certificate and making a commitment towards achieving the common goals of promoting and accelerating the incorporation of sustainable energy practices into the City of Perth. As part of this partnership, SEDO has been working closely with the City of Perth on the CitySwitch Green Office program, a national tenant energy management program run in partnership with eight city councils and State Government departments across Australia. SEDO has supported the initiative by facilitating and providing guest speakers at its regular Cafe Series events. The CitySwitch Café Series events provide an opportunity for existing and potential signatories to network with like-minded people, share ideas and be a part of a learning experience on energy efficiency within the office environment.
1 APRIL 2009
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi presented Commitment Certificates to Lavan Legal, DTZ, Cameron Chisholm Nicol, GHD and Wood & Grieve Engineers at the third ‘CitySwitch Café Series event held at Ecucina Restaurant on 17 March. Seventy-two people attended the event, including new and potential signatories, energy assessors, clients and representatives from the Property Council of Australia and the State Government. The City congratulates its 12 signatories for displaying a strong social and environmental responsibility and looks forward to welcoming more organisations this year. The Café topic was ‘Improving Office Energy Efficiency Through Behavioural Change’ and was presented by Bill Grace, Corporate Manager Sustainability for GHD followed by Andrew Fairs, Manager of the Sustainable Energy Programs for Sustainable Energy Development Office (SEDO). Andrew gave his top 10 tips for saving energy in the office. The Café Series is an ongoing program of events hosted by the City to facilitate networking among like-minded organisations and to discuss office energy efficiency issues, challenges and opportunities. Launched on 5 June 2008, the CitySwitch Green Office is a national tenant energy management program run in partnership with City of Perth and other city councils. The primary aim of CitySwitch is to improve the greenhouse performance of office commercial tenancies through the application of energy efficiency actions in the office.
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Perth's next CitySwitch Café Series event will be announced soon. Read more >
Law firm Lavan Legal wins CitySwitch Signatory of the Year (WA) award Read more >
CitySwitch Program Overview [PDF | 140KB] >
WA CitySwitch Progress Report Snapshot >
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