7News Australia – Perth Build to Rent news on Element 27 apartments, interviewing Sentinel Real Estate's Development Manager Owen Altham
Source: 7News, used with written permission
Sentinel's Element 27 Build to Rent apartment community in Subiaco (Perth), Western Australia, has successfully achieved carbon neutral certification for a second consecutive year under the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for Buildings.
In 2021, Element 27 officially achieved its status as the first Carbon Neutral Certified apartment building in Australia, following Sentinel's close work with the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Climate Active and Stantec's Sustainability team to pioneer a certification methodology for the Build to Rent model that acknowledges the sector's unique potential for ongoing energy leadership in the residential sector.
In line with the carbon neutral recertification milestone, Western Australia's Hon. Reece Whitby MLA, Minister for Environment; Climate Action discussed with the Sentinel team how its Build to Rent model and industry-leading sustainability strategies can pave the way for future residential developments in the state.
"We encourage West Australians to embrace innovative ways of sustainable living, to reduce our carbon footprint," said Minister Whitby.
"It's great to see Sentinel's commitment to smart housing choices, and we'd love to see more developers taking up greener solutions in the future."
To achieve carbon neutral recertification, Element 27 has maintained numerous sustainable operations throughout the past year, targeting enhanced water and energy conservation, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and utilising Australian-based carbon credits.
Key sustainability features at Element 27 include electric car charging stations, a 30kW photovoltaic system for common area energy usage, a rainwater and grey-water recycling system, specialty waste streams, access to a centralised geothermal system, energy efficient appliances, occupancy sensors, an embedded metering network and a leading 8-star NatHERS rating.
Keith Lucas, Managing Director of Sentinel in Australia said: "We're proud to see Element 27 maintain its carbon neutral status from Climate Active. Not only is the building a great example of how the Build to Rent model can offer Australians enhanced housing choices and an opportunity to live greener, but it has also created a critical pathway that will allow more residential buildings to target ongoing carbon neutral outcomes.
"As our Build to Rent pipeline expands across Australia, we remain committed to pursuing industry-leading sustainability targets and helping set new benchmarks for energy performance in the housing sector," said Mr Lucas.
Sentinel currently has more than 1,300 Build to Rent units under various stages of development throughout Australia. This includes The Briscoe, a 172-unit apartment building in Melbourne which is scheduled for completion in March 2023 and similarly designed to achieve carbon neutral certification.
The announcement has received coverage in Australian media:
Australian Property Journal
Business News
Sentinel currently has more than 1,300 Build to Rent units under various stages of development throughout Australia. Read more about our Australian Build to Rent Projects and our Sustainability achievements.