The City of Melbourne has been recognised as a global leader in cultivating green buildings, receiving a prestigious international award.
Lord Mayor Robert Doyle was presented with the C40 and Siemens Climate Leadership Award in the category of Energy Efficient Built Environment recently at a ceremony in London. Berlin and New York were also shortlisted for the award.
"Melbourne, the most liveable city in the world, has now been recognised as having some of the smartest buildings in the world,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Every piece of research tells me that a sustainable city with high quality of life will attract the best and brightest and that’s what drives innovation and economic growth.
The Lord Mayor attributed the award to some of the sustainable projects being conducted around the city including the 1200 Buildings retrofitting initiative.
He also commented on the City of Melbourne’s Gross Local Product increase from $58 billion in 2008 to $68 billion in 2012 and the boom in job growth in the building industry and downstream real estate services.
Melbourne’s pioneering efforts to create an energy efficient landscape by retrofitting existing buildings and setting minimum standards for new buildings, have led to a high density of new green buildings.
“We are providing building owners with the tools and the know-how to reduce energy use, save water and lower carbon emissions. If you need finance to enable a retrofit, we can facilitate it through the Sustainable Melbourne Fund,” said the Lord Mayor.
“Our unique Environmental Upgrade Finance mechanism, using council rates to provide the security for the loan, has now been replicated in other municipalities in Australia,” he added.
Environment Portfolio Chair Councillor Arron Wood said the award reflected the commitment Melbourne’s building owners, businesses and residents were making to a sustainable future.
“We couldn’t have received this award without their dedication. Melbourne’s bold and inspirational vision has been recognised internationally and this will spur our innovative businesses to ramp up action for a more sustainable built environment,” Cr Wood said.
"Our work doesn’t stop here. We will continue to work with these key groups to reach new targets and standards to create a truly sustainable Melbourne.”
Other sustainable building initiatives supported by the City of Melbourne include CitySwitch for tenants of office buildings and Smart Blocks for apartment owners.
More informaiton on Melbourne's win can be found on the City Climate Leadership Awards website.
