Australian Ethical Investment wins second Banksia Environmental Foundation Award

The new home of Australian Ethical Investment - Trevor Pearcey House - has won the Banksia Environmental Foundation award for the Built Environment, on the 20th anniversary of the Banksia Awards. The Prime minister, Kevin Rudd, is the Chief Patron of the awards. Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garret attended the awards evening.

'This is the second Banksia award we have been awarded', said the Managing Director, Anne O'Donnell, 'and it is again an honour to be recognised for our leadership in building a sustainable Australia. The building is only the third to receive a 6 Greenstar rating.'

'This is a leading example of sustainability in the refurbishment of an existing building', said Howard Pender, Executive Director of Australian Ethical. 'The original building was over 20 years old, and we wanted to show how it was possible for a similar cost of a normal refurbishment to transform an ordinary suburban strata office into a state of the art sustainable office, whilst never forgetting that the productivity and comfort of the people who work there is paramount.'

Features of the refurbishment include:
- external wall insulation
- solar water heating
- opening, double glazed windows
- exposed internal mass and the addition of thermal chimneys
- rainwater capture
- bicycle storage cage.

The refurbished building produces about 70% fewer greenhouse emissions than an average commercial building and uses about 75% less water.
Mr Pender described the re-use of materials as another important part of the refurbishment that others could adopt. Items such as carpet tiles, doors, glass blocks, structural steel amongst many others were adapted and re-used.

Ms O'Donnell observed that 'the staff essentially wanted control over their workspace and we've achieved that. Our internal staff surveys show that the staff, including myself, are very happy.'

Detailed information on the building is available at www.austethical.com.au