by Komoneed | Feb 25, 2025
Siemens technology has helped Ashbridge Capital’s Riverside Centre in Adelaide reduce its energy consumption and emissions.
Controlled and monitored through Siemens’ leading Desigo CC Building Management System (BMS), Riverside has now become one of the few buildings of its age in Australia to achieve carbon neutrality. Originally built in 1987, the 22,000 m2 building is claimed to be the only office tower in South Australia fully certified carbon neutral.
By using Siemens technology, the Riverside Centre has reduced its electricity costs by 50%, energy consumption by 40% and emissions by 67.5%. It has also earned a 5.5 Star NABERS Energy rating.
Australian investment manager Ashbridge Capital, on behalf of German investor Atlantic Funds, planned to increase the building’s sustainability in 2020 with a $24 million investment, aiming to reduce the building’s carbon footprint through energy efficiency upgrades.
The investment manager partnered with Siemens on an Energy Performance Contract, which included modernising mechanical services including lift motors, smart metering, LED lighting upgrades and the installation of a solar panel system.
“The Riverside Centre, almost 40 years old, has been transformed into a carbon-neutral building with a 5.5 Star NABERS rating — an impressive achievement. We are exceptionally proud of these achievements, which validate that the Riverside Centre remains as relevant and competitive as any premium office building in Australia,” said Vishant Narayan, Founder and Managing Director of Ashbridge Capital. “Climate change is one of the most significant challenges of our time. The built environment produces around 40% of carbon emissions globally. As building owners, we have a duty of care not just to provide healthy and productive spaces for tenants, but to use the latest energy efficiency technology there is to help reduce our collective carbon emissions.
“Siemens has been a great technology partner on our sustainability journey. From the feasibility studies at the start through to supporting us in bringing some of the best-in-class building management technology, it has been a collaborative effort to get to where we are now. We basically hit every goal we wanted to and outperformed on energy performance by 250%.”
Part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, Desigo CC is an open building management platform which is designed to manage high-performance buildings and adapt to future requirements.
Additionally, Siemens’ remote digital service centre in Melbourne provides real-time monitoring of the Riverside Centre, enabling the building to continue to operate at peak performance with a data-driven maintenance model.
Peter Halliday, CEO of Siemens Australia and New Zealand said, “Australia is responsible for 1% of the global greenhouse gas emissions — but by accelerating digitalisation across industry and infrastructure, we can achieve our greenhouse gas reduction targets faster, ease the burden on ambitious renewables targets and contribute more to decarbonising the world beyond 1%.
“The Riverside Centre is a great example. Technology upgrades have delivered energy savings that will pay for the upgrades over time. This is true sustainability and demonstrates that no matter a building’s age, we can use technologies available today to digitalise, become more sustainable and reduce operating costs.”
Image caption: Vishant Narayan, Founder and Managing Director of Ashbridge Capital, and Peter Halliday, CEO of Siemens Australia and New Zealand, at the Riverside Centre, Adelaide.
by Komoneed | Feb 24, 2025
It stands to reason that if you reduce the amount of pollution in an environment, the organisms there will thrive. Now, a study confirms that is happening in rivers in England. According to the research, reducing the amount of metal pollutants like zinc and copper in English rivers led to an increase in the aquatic […]
The post Metal Pollution Reduction Linked to Increased Biodiversity in English Rivers, Study Finds appeared first on EcoWatch.
by Komoneed | Feb 24, 2025
In 2018, Americans generated 35.7 million tons of plastic waste. Some plastics are recyclable, but not all of them are. Less than 10% of plastic items are properly recycled. HDPE (29.3%) and PET (29.1%) are the types of plastic with the highest recycling rates. Some people don’t recycle as they should due to confusing policies […]
The post Beyond Petroleum: The Rise of Bioplastics in a Greener World appeared first on RecycleNation.
by Komoneed | Feb 24, 2025
It may have been around a while, but time hasn’t dampened the i4’s appeal. It’s our Deal of the Day for 24 February.
by Komoneed | Feb 24, 2025
Amazon Australia has continued its commitment to reduce packaging waste by moving to 100% recyclable packaging.
From its boxes, bags and envelopes to the tape that holds it together, all packaging from Amazon that is sent from its Australian facilities can go directly into the household recycling bin.
This step addresses the 1.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging generated annually in Australia.
The company has been working to reduce packaging waste, including:
using AI and automation to create right-sized packaging and investing in paper-based solutions;
globally reducing packaging weight per shipment since 2015 by 43%, avoiding more than 3 million tonnes of waste; and
introducing new automated paper packaging machines that create unpadded, durable and flexible paper bags that are said to be up to 77% lighter than similar-sized plastic padded envelopes and help to optimise and reduce packaging weight.
Many items are now also shipped without additional Amazon packaging, such as nappies, toilet rolls and soft drinks, reducing unnecessary materials.
“Moving to 100% recyclable delivery packaging in Australia is a major milestone. This project has been almost two years in the making, following a rigorous process of product development and testing to ensure the paper envelopes can also withstand the delivery process and customer orders arrive safely,” said Janet Menzies, Amazon Australia Country Manager.
While the company has worked to reduce single-use plastic packaging material, there are still a few instances where customers in Australia may receive packages in plastic packaging; for example:
Amazon controls the packaging for items shipped to customers direct from its own fulfilment centres, yet third-party sellers can ship directly to customers themselves, in which case Amazon does not control the packaging. The company encourages third parties to use alternative packaging options.
When a product comes in a single-use plastic bag from the manufacturer and the bag is suitable, Amazon will deliver the product to the customer in the manufacturer-supplied bag. This avoids the addition of extra packaging.
Plastic preparation material such as bubble wrap may still be used where necessary, such as to protect fragile items like glass or to seal liquid products such as shampoo and soaps.
“We are proud of this progress, but it’s just the beginning and we will keep innovating to improve our packaging,” Menzies said.
Amazon’s 100% recyclable packaging has been in product development and testing for two years, so as to ensure that orders can withstand the delivery process and still arrive safely.
Image caption: Amazon Australia’s 100% recyclable packaging.
