Sustainability

For CIC Australia, the words ‘sustainable development’ are more than just a marketing catch-phrase. They are central to what we stand for as an organisation. Sustainability flows through all of the planning, design, construction, marketing and post-occupancy activities involved in bringing a new project to the marketplace.  We also require all our consultants and subcontractors to design, implement and maintain appropriate environmental management practices.

In late 2008, CIC hosted a business breakfast at Parliament House, Canberra, where the Minister for Climate Change, Senator Penny Wong, acknowledged initiatives taken as part of our sustainability strategy. Senator Wong announced that Canberra would be home to one of Australia’s first suburbs to confront the threat of climate change – the new suburb of Crace.

From an environmental standpoint, CIC and our consortium partners have led the way with Crace, a joint venture with the ACT Land Development Agency. Achieving GreenSmart® accreditation from the Housing Industry Association (HIA) is an endorsement of our attention to the environment in every aspect of planning and design. And a ground-breaking partnership with Greening Australia makes Crace Australia’s first suburb to voluntarily offset carbon emissions during the civil construction phase of the suburb.

In Adelaide, at Lightsview, we have also set high environmental standards, by mandating such features as a 6-star energy rating, solar-efficient design and water-saving features including the provision of a reticulated recycled water supply to every home in this new community.  Recycled water and/or collected stormwater will be the source for watering of all public gardens and parks in Lightsview.

CIC’s largest and most ambitious project to date, the new township of Googong in the Canberra region of southern New South Wales, will showcase the very best in sustainability across social, cultural, environmental and economic areas.

A comprehensive energy strategy will address a range of solutions for the town’s short and long-term energy needs. We are also working to deliver state-of-the-art, high speed broadband via fibre to the home technology.  The Googong water cycle management system will deliver potable water savings of about 63 per cent and up to 80 per cent of waste water will be recycled to maintain gardens, flush toilets and irrigate public parks and spaces. We estimate that Googong’s ultimate population of some 16,000 people will use the water traditionally required for about 6,500.

Social sustainability is an important element of our planning. Googong, like most of our projects, will have a Community Development Officer to help residents form links to their new community. The emphasis on recreational facilities such as open spaces (Googong will have 23% of its area devoted to parklands) is another important aspect of our approach.