Northwest, as Vital's manager, recognises the importance of minimising our impact on the planet and are committed to further bringing sustainability into the core of our business including our approach to asset management, development and precincts.
We are currently exploring sustainability opportunities within the Vital portfolio by undertaking detailed energy audits to explore opportunities for installation of solar, thermal storage, electrification, current equipment efficiency calculations and other sustainable outcomes.
Stage 1 of this process includes assets within the portfolio that are landlord-controlled, enabling us to formulate a sustainability roadmap to carbon neutrality at an individual asset level. Stage 2 expands this out to the remainder of the portfolio, to assist providing our partners with sustainable opportunities, working together to become carbon neutral.
Vital have further partnered with Veolia to create an energy dashboard for the purpose of automating the collection of data into a centralised database. The system has been created to collect, track, compare and report Vital’s emissions usage in real time.
In line with this goal and our sustainability strategy, these Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) guidelines have been developed to ensure that all new developments and major redevelopments have a consistent reference for embedding ESD principles and initiatives into projects.
The guidelines support various scales of developments and provide a framework that facilitates improved outcomes and opportunities for us to pursue certified sustainability ratings aligned with industry leadership.
The following key ESD priorities are prioritised across all projects:
Net-zero emissions: All new projects must be net-zero emissions ready and enable a transition to 100% renewable energy powered buildings, with zero onsite fossil fuels.
Reducing upfront carbon emissions is a key requirement for all new building projects and redevelopments.
Sustainable and healthy designs and sustainably procured building materials will be incorporated on all projects where possible, including increased daylight, improved fresh air provisions and sustainable materials.
All projects must be climate resilient with climate change risks identified and design responses incorporated that mitigate and adapt to a changing climate.
All major projects will achieve a certified rating. This includes building and community certifications for major developments and performance ratings for existing assets.
We recognise the growing need to do more for our planet and are committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, with a focus over the next 18 months on establishing a roadmap for a science-based interim 2030 reduction target.
Through the comprehensive energy audits currently underway, we can establish a prioritisation roadmap to identify a variety of energy efficiency programmes which will inform our strategy to reach our net-zero ambition by 2050.
Our efforts over the next 18 months include setting a short-term emissions and 100% renewable energy target, and exploring opportunities to phase out fossil fuels from our existing portfolio. We understand that emissions from our partners and tenants (Scope 3 emissions) are a significant portion of our carbon footprint and and we will continue to work with our tenants to improve energy and water efficiencies and increase renewable energy procurement where possible.
ESD guidelines set out stringent requirements for all new developments to permit net-zero carbon operation and minimise upfront emissions from the design construction process.
Physical climate risks such as drought, wildfires, flooding, earthquakes and rising sea levels have the potential to pose major threat to our portfolio. By understanding and pre-empting these physical climate risks across all our assets, we can ensure we have a resilient portfolio.
Through Measurabl, we have undertaken risk assessments of each asset and are analysing the results to identify which buildings are facing the greatest risk to help us recognise the impact climate change will have across the portfolio. Following this analysis, we will establish a framework of measures to take preventative action to ensure the portfolio is resilient to climate change and our healthcare providers are not impacted during a time of crisis when they are needed most.
Vital and Northwest continue to pursue opportunities that enhance the experience for our tenants and their patients, through the integration of sustainability practices into our existing facilities and new developments.
In an explicit effort to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability as well as ensure long-term value creation for our stakeholders, we will have undertaken Green Star – Performance certifications across the Vital portfolio and will review and identify opportunities for enhancements and retrofits to improve certification levels. We are also exploring other certifications such as NABERS, Energy Star and WELL, among others relevant to each property and location.
For our new developments, we integrate certification considerations into our processes where applicable and have registered the below development projects for Green Star – Design & As Built certifications: Coomera Health Precinct, Logan Private Hospital and Playford Health Hub Medical Precinct.