“The Spot”, constructed for the University of Melbourne’s Business and Economics faculty, was reported to be the first 5 Star Green Star university building in Australia. Constructed in Pelham Street, Carlton, it is, effectively, a test-bed for multiple sustainability approaches and technologies.
Colin Reiter, the university’s director, campus services, says the decision to build the then $145m building to the 5 Star Green Star standard was part of the university’s larger 2007 objective to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 per cent by 2010.
Since then, the university has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
Audits uncovered inefficiencies
When the university’s Sustainability Plan was first being developed, Reiter says an audit to measure the carbon footprint and identify potential energy savings, was undertaken by specialist energy consultants, Energetics, of over 130 buildings at UoM’s main Parkville campus. Read the full story on TFE Special Reports.