The Footprint Company
Sustainable development is increasingly critical, and companies like Investa are taking serious action. Investa has ambitious targets to reduce their carbon footprint and are working with The Footprint CompanyTM (TFC) to achieve them.
Investa’s ESG strategy targets ‘net zero’ for scope 1 and 2 emissions (by FY25), and an improvement to their scope 3 emissions through the reduction of embodied carbon in capital works projects. In 2020 Investa worked with TFC to develop an approach to achieving this, which included using the Footprint Calculator to reduce capital works projects’ carbon emissions.
The goal of this collaboration was a 45% reduction in embodied carbon on selected projects. Happily, since 2021, Investa has achieved this on all projects to which the calculator was applied.
To start Investa’s reduction journey, TFC completed a scope 3 evaluation of their capital works program to establish the required reduction targets for materials and design. Targets were set based on detailed embodied carbon assessment as well as benchmarking prevailing standard works specifications.
Given Investa’s high-end design standards, a large part of the initial work was demonstrating the quality finishes that could be achieved while still making big cuts to embodied carbon. TFC prepared a visual palette to help the capital works team understand the level of finish available at different reduction levels.
New ‘High-Performance Design Guidelines’ were developed. These integrated the embodied carbon performance targets for various standard designs to help embed carbon reductions from inception, and influence the supply chain.
This initial work has allowed Investa to essentially set carbon ‘budgets’ to guide designers and contractors. Embedding reduction targets from the start of each project allows for the greatest possible reduction at the lowest cost. Importantly, it helps creates an environment that encourages designers and the materials supply chain to start to innovate to meet these carbon budgets, while still delivering a high-quality project.
To help Investa’s supply chain embrace the innovation opportunities their ESG strategy presented, TFC trained 20 consultants and contractors. The training included:
TFC participates in design development and co-ordination meetings for all projects to provide design and material advice during project development. These meetings can include not only the architect, but also interior designers, structural consultants, services consultants, lighting consultants and project managers.
We contribute to many aspects of the project to facilitate carbon reductions: from the point of demolition to material selections, services changes and final project completion. Having everyone on the journey from the start has been critical to achieving meaningful carbon reduction on Investa’s projects.
On capital works projects, TFC’s carbon management software platform – The Footprint CalculatorTM – enables:
Over the past 3 years, we’ve worked on 30+ projects together. These projects have been refurbishments, refits and fit-outs on properties around Sydney. Projects include lift lobbies, spec suites, amenities, lift car works, end-of-trip facilities and more. For projects with a carbon ‘budget’, our work covered the early design stage through to delivery. This enabled Investa to measure and reduce carbon across these capital works projects.
TSA acquired TFC in 2022 after we met each other while working on Investa projects. During these projects, we saw a strong alignment in our values, and realised that together, we could grow our shared positive impact.
The size and profile of TSA significantly increases our ability to reduce embodied carbon in the built environment. TSA has enabled TFC to expand our impact to additional sectors like roads, rail, health, education and aviation. The carbon reduction potential in these sectors is huge and we’re excited to get started!
For TSA, joining with TFC means they can offer their clients direct access to world-leading carbon advice and easy-to-use embodied carbon tools. This empowers TSA’s clients to start proactively including carbon reduction strategies in their infrastructure planning and delivery, rather than waiting for mandates or regulation.
We’ve helped Investa avoid approximately 19,800t CO2-e. That’s equivalent to running the entire 201 Kent Street building for 6 years. We’re so proud to be part of that story!
We’ve worked on:
By setting ambitious targets, Investa is leading the way in responsible property portfolio management.
