Your Development

Leading international and Australian developments are moving towards ‘whole of development’ sustainability targets and ratings, in addition to ratings for individual buildings. This more holistic approach encourages consideration of opportunities for master planning, subdivision and infrastructure design that greatly enhance sustainability outcomes.

Whilst a range of tools exists to guide and benchmark the sustainability of individual building developments, there are fewer tools that can be used at the subdivision or precinct scale. However, there is increasing recognition of the importance of the land development phase in facilitating cost effective sustainability outcomes - decisions made at this stage can greatly influence outcomes later in the process.

LEED for Neighbourhood Development (pilot), USA

This is part of the LEED suite of tools, developed in the USA. It is a point-based rating system for neighbourhood scale development, and the pilot version has been applied to 238 projects in the USA. Points are provided under the following areas:

• Smart location and linkage: considers design to reduce travel demand and car use
• Neighbourhood pattern and design: considers factors such as compact development, housing diversity and access to public spaces
• Green construction and technology: considers attributes of services and buildings
• Innovation and design process: extra points for innovation and involvement of a LEED-accredited professional.

The innovative Dockside Green development in Canada is aiming for a platinum LEED for Neighbourhood Development rating.
 

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EnviroDevelopment, Australia

EnviroDevelopment is a science-based branding system to assist purchasers to recognise and choose environmentally sustainable developments. Created by the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA), it rates developments based on the following factors:

• Ecosystems: water quality, landform, flora and fauna
• Waste: demolition, land clearing, construction and post-construction
• Energy: energy efficiency, low-greenhouse and/ or renewable energy sources
• Materials: use of materials with low environmental impact
• Water: water efficiency and source substitution, development-wide targets
• Community: transport, community design, local facilities, safe accessible housing and consultation during the development process

The multi award winning Currumbin EcoVillage in Queensland, which won Australia’s best environmental development at the 2007 UDIA awards for excellence, has achieved accreditation in all 6 categories.

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Tool for Urban Sustainability (TUSC), NZ

TUSC is an online design and assessment tool that rates the sustainability of urban residential buildings, subdivisions and neighbourhoods. Currently under development in New Zealand, the neighbourhood tool is for developers wanting to design or assess the sustainability of a multi lot subdivision. It considers community-wide features such as land use patterns, road widths, connectivity, landscaping, natural features, stormwater and access to community facilities. The score is adjusted based on the particular neighbourhood characteristics.

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Solar Access for Lots, NSW

This tool, developed by SEDA in NSW, provides a rating for lots based on their potential for solar access. The rating depends on lot orientation and lot width.

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Subdivision Energy Analysis Tool, USA

The Subdivision Energy Analysis Tool is currently under development in California. Its aim is to facilitate the design of solar efficient neighbourhoods. The tool allows comparison of alternative designs and street layouts. It has two modes, design and evaluation, which can be used accordingly depending on the design phase.

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Key Issues

Benefits

A sustainability rating for land development or aspects of land development (such as lot orientation, for example) can provide the land developer with benefits that are much the same as those associated with building rating systems. These include market recognition and potentially greater profit margins. Essentially, the rating system allows land developers to be recognised for undertaking actions that will facilitate better and more cost effective sustainability outcomes later in the development process, for the development as a whole.

Tools and rating systems are also useful as a guide, to ensure all the sustainability opportunities have been captured. This is extremely significant during the land development process, which sets many of the parameters that later become constraints or opportunities in relation to sustainability. Land development attributes that can have a major impact on sustainability outcomes include infrastructure design, street layout, connectivity to surroundings and lot size, mix and orientation. Tools and systems can encourage not only better performance in these areas but a greater level of integration in terms of how these issues are considered in relation to each other.

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Risks

There can be risks involved for the land developer in committing to a rating, before sufficient analysis has been done to examine the implications. As mentioned under the section on costs, commitment to a high rating may incur some cost premium, however it also has potential to generate financial benefits.

In some cases developers taking an innovative approach have come up against regulatory hurdles, for example in relation to use of alternative water sources, so it’s important to check for any potential conflicts with local codes and regulations.

Ratings that benchmark the potential of a design to reduce environmental impact, for example to reduce energy or water use, do not factor in occupant behaviour and operational ratings or measurements may tell a different story. This could potentially happen in a land development context, for example if lots were designed to optimise solar access but building designs did not make the most of this, and/ or occupant behaviour was not aligned with energy conservation. This should not be seen so much a risk, but rather a telling example of the importance of carrying sustainability intentions through the whole development cycle, and finding ways to engage and involve building users and managers.

Despite these potential risks outlined above, the greatest risk could be in refusing to move towards more sustainable land development approaches. The concept of ‘future proofing’ – protecting communities from the risks associated with climate change, rising resource costs and other pressing sustainability issues – is becoming increasingly prominent. Leading developers are adopting sustainability as the key to their own business continuity.
 

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Savings

The use of tools and ratings systems at the land development phase can result in savings to a number of different stakeholders at a number of different stages of the process.

Savings to the land developer can result from the ability of tools and rating systems to guide a more efficient land development process and secure faster approvals. By providing a framework for sustainable land development, with benchmarks and metrics, tools and rating systems can help to make the process more transparent and less time consuming. Importantly, they can identify opportunities for design improvements that cost no extra or may even result in cost savings, such as efficient street layout, good lot orientation or decentralised systems for water cycle management that may cost less than upgrades to existing infrastructure. As for individual building ratings systems, achieving a good rating may also enhance sale profits for the land developer.

Savings are also passed on to others, such as the developer of buildings, who can more easily achieve good building ratings due to land attributes such as solar access, sustainable water management on-site or connectivity to public transport. Eventually, savings are passed on to residents and tenants in the form of homes, offices and shops that cost less to run.

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Costs

Commitment to a high rating may incur a cost premium in land development costs, compared to a compliance or ‘business as usual’ approach. Whilst there is little information on cost premiums associated with the use of sustainability tools and ratings at the land development scale, there is some documentation on average construction cost premiums associated with a commitment to building ratings such as Greenstar. However, leading developers are achieving high Greenstar ratings within commercial parameters and seeing a business advantage in doing so, buoyed by market demand and the benefits to their own corporate image.

To preserve a rating system’s integrity, formal certification is generally required. The developer needs to pay a fee and provide documentation to show the ratings criteria have been met. There is also the time-cost of putting together the submission, however this can to some extent be absorbed into sustainability consultant fees. The rating system can provide a framework that assists in the process of developing sustainability objectives, targets and strategies for the development.

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Barriers

Barriers may include uncertainty about the level of market recognition a land development rating system can provide, and whether this is worth the time and cost associated with obtaining a rating. For individual buildings, ratings systems such as Greenstar are well known by the market and apply nationally. So far there is only one Australian land development rating system that provides a rating across a broad range of environmental impact categories - the Queensland UDIA’s EnviroDevelopment - and this is less well known in other states. The Green Building Council of Australia does have plans to develop a Greenstar tool for precincts at some point in the future.

Tools that focus on a specific aspect of sustainability, such as the SEDA Solar Access tool, need to be used with an appreciation of the broader context. For example, it’s easier to achieve a high rating for large lots compared to small lots, however this does not mean larger lots are a good outcome from all perspectives. Other sustainability and urban form issues also need to be considered.

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Benchmarks

Best practice subdivision and precinct-scale developments are starting to move to ‘whole of development’ sustainability targets in addition to individual building rating commitments. Outstanding international examples include Hammarby Sjostad in Stockholm and Dockside Green in Victoria, British Columbia (the later used the LEED for Neighbourhood Development rating system).

A focus on ‘whole of development’ benchmarks drives more innovative approaches at the land development phase, because what happens at this phase is a key determinant of how the development will perform as a whole.

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Development phase actions

Feasibility

The feasibility stage is the time to investigate available tools and decide which are applicable to the development. This will depend on the specific project objectives and priorities, and how well the tool is suited to the local context, including site-specific sustainability opportunities and constraints. Check for potential conflicts with existing local regulations.

Once the tool/s are selected, the next task is to decide on which benchmarks to aim for. First, establish the baseline for sustainability. This will be the minimum that is required by regulation, plus any additional requirements that are part of the brief. Next, establish the level of sustainability you will aspire to. This may be based on local or international best practice benchmarks, corporate policy or advice from your sustainability consultant.

The next step is to conduct some preliminary modelling to assess the implications of meeting this benchmark, compared to achieving the baseline. It’s advisable to seek the feedback of stakeholders, including the communities involved with or affected by the planned development.

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Planning

At this stage, detailed modelling is required to examine different design options that meet the chosen benchmark. These options are not detailed design solutions, but basic concepts the development needs to embody that will inform the design brief. The tool may prescribe options in some cases, but most tools allow some level of flexibility in choosing options that meet a given benchmark.

A cost benefit analysis will help you to select the best option, and this is best done using a ‘whole of society’ costing framework that factors in broader costs and benefits to the environment and the community. This assists a developer to identify opportunities for cost sharing partnerships with utilities and other stakeholders who stand to benefit from a sustainable land development.

A commitment to a given benchmark can help during the community consultation process, to communicate your commitment to a more sustainable development.

If responsible for building design as well as land development, now is the time to select benchmarks for individual buildings, using existing rating systems, that will align with your whole of development benchmark.

Ensure the benchmarks and basic options you have decided on are fed into the consultant briefs and contract documents. Make a note of all documentation required for the rating certification process and ensure the people who need to supply it are aware of their responsibilities.

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Design

Check all drawings and specifications to make sure they comply with the requirements of the brief.

Used as part of an integrated design process, rating systems and tools provide a common framework and can assist in ensuring all consultants have a shared understanding of objectives.

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Construction

During construction, check that the design intent is being carried out and make sure that all documentation needed for the rating certification is collected.

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Completion

This is the time to submit the certification application.

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