Savills has been honoured for its commitment to promoting sustainability for office-based businesses.
Savills has been honoured for its commitment to promoting sustainability for office-based businesses by claiming the CitySwitch South Australian Signatory of the Year Award.
The award was presented to Savills by City of Adelaide Lord Mayor Martin Haese and Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation Ian Hunter at the annual CitySwitch Green Office Program awards, celebrating the sustainability achievements of city businesses and organisations.
CitySwitch is a national sustainability program for office-based businesses and tenants. Adelaide City Council has been managing the CitySwitch program in South Australia since 2008. Currently there are 54 businesses who have signed up for the program.
This year the CitySwitch program achieved a national milestone of having three million square metres of office space signed to the program, representing 12 percent of Australia’s CBD office space. It is estimated that CitySwitch signatories are saving around $15 million in energy costs alone each year.
Savills claimed the CitySwitch South Australian Signatory of the Year Award for the significant reduction in office-based carbon emissions following the recent refurbishment of its Adelaide premises.
As well as an extensive lighting upgrade and the fitting of energy sub-metering, Savills upgraded its onsite server hardware and transitioned to Surface Pro computing and Skype for Business telecommunications, resulting in reduced energy costs and improved workplace productivity and employee satisfaction.
Enhanced staff well-being was also targeted in the refurbishment and was achieved through the provision of sitting/standing desks, considerable indoor planting and greater access to natural light.
In receiving the award, Savills was also recognised for its leadership in sharing its office retrofit checklist with other CitySwitch signatories. This checklist, which Savills uses across its national offices, was developed in collaboration with the CitySwitch Green Office Program.
Dale O’Toole, Savills National Sustainability Manager, said the checklist serves as a useful template for tenants considering either updating their existing office fit-out or moving to new office space in another building.
He said the negotiation of a new lease presents a key window of opportunity for businesses wanting to reduce greenhouse emissions and operating costs whilst occupying office spaces that offer enhanced performance outcomes.