Now celebrating 17 exciting and action-packed years, the significance of the 2023 Sustainability Awards has intensified, especially given the profound events of the last few years.

These occurrences have made these awards a miletsone in many ways and provided a direct glimpse into humanity's path for the next decade, positioning the learnings gained from the entrants as a potent force for driving change and a more sustainable future.

Therefore, it's not surprising that this year's 2023 Sustainability Awards have garnered an exceptionally high volume, and for that matter, a high calibre of submissions.

And for the second consecutive year, the Shortlist was selected during our dynamic, live judging day.

This live judging day was made successful not only by our dedicated events, sales, editorial, marketing and IT teams but also with the invaluable support of Autex Acoustics, who went above and beyond to ensure its seamless execution, as well as ensuring all who attended remained well-fed and watered.

Noteworthy are the distinguished judges who participated in this event: Simon Lincoln (Make Architects), Alex Symes (Alexander Symes Architect), Simone Schenkle (Gruen Architecture), Kate Nason (Frasers Property).

Mahalath Halperin (Mahalath Halperin Architects), David Coates (Sustainable Building & Design), Jeremy Spencer (Positive Footprints Sustainable Design & Construction), Arianna Brambilla (University of Sydney), Marni Reti (Kaunitz Yeung Architecture) and Ben Peake (Carter Williamson Architects).

In another milestone, for the first time in 10 years, the Awards will have a new Head Judge in the form of Jeremy Spencer, owner, and founder of Positive Footprints Sustainable Design & Construction, and an architect and designer who has for many years had a close working realtionship with the Sustainability Awards.

In terms of the actual judging, this year, the jury found it somewhat easier to differentiate between the entries. However, it's worth mentioning that one judge noted how entrants: “Must back up claims, strengthen that story/positioning on the entry process’.

Considering the improvements witnessed year after year in the quality of the winners, the prospects are promising for the upcoming Gala Awards night on November 9 in Sydney. This event will reaffirm the Architecture & Design Sustainability Awards as the preeminent national sustainability accolades in Australia.

Upon reviewing the Shortlist, I think that I'm not alone in saying that there's an undeniable sense of heightened anticipation for the Gala night and the unveiling of the victors on November 9, 2023.

We extend an invitation to you to secure a full day ticket for the Sustainability Summit. Book your tickets, before it sells out here.

In the interim, we present the 2023 Shortlist below, without any specific order, bar alphabetical of course:

For the comprehensive shortlist, click here.