Materials Use Market Considerations
The energy and water embodied in materials can be far greater than the energy or water used in day-to-day activities of a family or a company. For example, a recent study by the University of Sydney for the Australian Conservation Foundation showed that, on average, every additional dollar spent by Australians caused 28 litres of water to be used and 720 grams of greenhouse gases to be emitted. Analysing consumption in this way is often done by the use of an 'ecological footprint' analysis which tracks how much an organisation or population uses (in terms of an area of land and water) compared with the earth's resources. Australians have the fourth highest ecological footprint in the world, an average consumption of 7.7 global hectares per person. In other words, if everyone lived like Australians, the human population would need four planets to provide the land, water and resources we use. WWF's 'Living Planet Report 2006' declared humanity's ecological footprint now exceeds the earth's biocapacity by almost 25%.
It is therefore vital we record and reduce the materials we use in our houses and developments. Furthermore, the materials we use may have issues in terms of toxic pollution produced either in their manufacture or use. We have a responsibility to ensure healthy environments for both construction workers and those who live in the homes or commercial buildings we develop.
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Case Study
Scope of Reporting:
We currently do not report on materials use in the Asset Management portfolio or Commercial Developments. The issues associated with doing so are much more challenging than those relating to energy, water and waste. As with energy, there is a clear delineation between what tenants control and what is controlled by the base building owner. In the majority of our buildings we are directly responsible for common areas such as lobbies, foyers, lifts and back of house areas but not areas within the tenanted space. Normally we do supply 'base building' light fittings, ceilings and carpets to tenancies. There is no universally recognised methodology for measuring or reporting on the impacts of materials used in operating commercial or industrial buildings, although the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) Green Star suite of rating tools assists.
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