LED lighting upgrade a silver lining amidst the disruptive impacts of COVID-19
December 2020
In February 2020, Scentre Group announced it would pursue a net zero emissions target by 2030 across its wholly-owned portfolio of Westfield Living Centres. This followed a 29 per cent reduction in emissions intensity in the decade since 2009, and the implementation of a portfolio-wide National Environmental Efficiency Framework (NEEF) in 2017, which achieved an impressive 4.1 per cent reduction in energy usage and a 4.6 per cent reduction in carbon emissions across the portfolio.
Last year both Westfield Hurstville and Knox achieved annual energy savings in excess of 10 per cent following quick, easy fixes like ensuring escalators and lights were switched off when not in use, changing set point temperatures for air conditioning by between 0.5 and 1.5 degrees, and replacing all internal legacy lighting with energy-efficient LEDs.
And more recently, amid Victoria’s COVID-19 restrictions, Scentre Group carried out a largescale LED upgrade project of car parks, loading docks and back-of-house areas in centres across the state. With sensors and automation, current modelling shows that when all projects are complete, the energy saving will be circa 6 gigawatt hours per year, or equivalent to the energy required to run circa 900 family households for a year.
Scentre Group has 42 Westfield centres across Australia and New Zealand and has continued to invest in onsite renewable energy across its portfolio. In 2019, its five solar installations were approaching 9 gigawatt hours of electricity generation. Other initiatives that underpin its environmental efficiency approach include data analytics and realtime 24/7 performance management leveraging its building management systems. When considering future developments, Scentre Group look to construction standards incorporating 5-star Green Star design guidelines.
“We are committed to ensuring we have an efficient and resilient
long-term business that balances the needs of our stakeholders. As
part of this commitment the Group considers net zero emissions
by 2030 as a natural evolution of the environmental pillar of our
Sustainable Business Framework.
Work will continue in 2020 to align existing and new energy
efficiency and renewable initiatives to this target and ensure our
pathway informs capital investment decisions”
Find the case study on page 24 of the third edition of Navigating a dynamic energy landscape: a briefing for Australian businesses.