No light switches and a great workplace for Investa

There are no light switches in Investa Property Group's new head office at Deutsche Bank Place at 126 Phillip St (Sydney) - and one plant for every person in the office.

It's all part of a green fitout for the office, which has been officially recognised as a green office by achieving a 5 Star Green Star - Office Interiors Certified Rating recognising 'Australian Excellence', under the Green Building Council's Green Star environmental rating system.

Investa's achievement was officially announced at a Green Building Council breakfast seminar in Sydney this week (11 July) attended by 200 property industry representatives.

Titled "A tale of two tenancies", the seminar provided insights into the green office fitouts of Investa and Morgan Stanley - Australia's first green office fitout.

"The Green Building Council congratulates Investa on achieving a 5 Star Green Star Certified Rating for the green fitout of its new Sydney head office," said Green Building Council Chief Executive, Romilly Madew.

The Investa office was assessed under the Green Building Council of Australia's Green Star - Office Interiors rating tool, which promotes office fitouts that provide healthier, more productive work-places which also have less impact on the natural environment.

The Investa office fitout on levels 6 and 7 of 126 Phillip Street, a building owned and managed by Investa, achieved maximum scores in a number of Green Star credits, including ventilation rates, electrical submetering, PVC minimisation, and the use of sustainable timbers.

The fitout was designed to achieve a 5 star ABGR rating and the highest most cost-efficient Green Star rating.

There is not a single light switch in the office, with lighting instead controlled by a network of occupancy detectors that detect movement and illumination at the desk level and adjust light levels accordingly. If the detectors do not detect movement for 15 minutes they will dim the fittings to off. If they detect that adequate sunlight is coming in through the windows they will dim the fittings to maintain consistent brightness or if it is dark they will make it brighter.

Other green features of the fitout include:
 Volatile Organic Compounds ("VOCs" - the harmful gasses emitted by many synthetic materials) and formaldehyde were avoided where possible and kept to minimum levels to improve the indoor air quality;
 adhesives were avoided wherever possible and mechanical fixings such as screws maximised. Where adhesives could not be avoided low VOC options were used wherever available;
 modifications were made to the base building air conditioning system to provide 50% more fresh air than is usual for an office environment;
 no PVC resilient flooring (vinyl) was used in the fitout due to the environmental impacts of its manufacture and also to reduce VOC emissions. In various locations it was substituted with rubber and linoleum.

As the largest listed owner of commercial property in Australia, Investa had two main aims: to provide a better workplace for staff; and to ensure the project provided an exemplar for its tenants.

Craig Roussac, Investa's Head of Environment, Health & Safety, spoke passionately about the project at the breakfast seminar, "As you often find with good environmental design, many of the office's most innovative features aren't immediately apparent when you look at them".

"The selection of every material and piece of equipment in the office took into account its effect on the natural environment and the workplace, be it the supplier's factory, the construction site or the place where many Investa people will spend their working week".

Media contacts: GBCA Sarah Turner 0416 147 534
Investa Kim Hudson 02 8226 9302
0404 239 305