Hesperia receives carbon neutral certification
June 30, 2022
Hesperia has been certified as a Carbon Neutral Organisation by Climate Active, an Australian Government initiative established to help reduce carbon emissions, for its business operations in 2020-2021. Hesperia is the first West Australian based property developer to obtain this certification.
For an organisation to be certified carbon neutral, it must undertake an in-depth process to accurately measure the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated by its business activities, while finding ways to reduce carbon emissions along the way. Following that, carbon offsets – activities that reduce, capture or reverse carbon emissions – are purchased to cancel out excess carbon in the atmosphere.
Through this process, Hesperia implemented several strategies to reduce its overall carbon emissions. These included switching to 100% renewable energy utilising a rooftop solar system, improving waste management and recycling rates, working with staff to help improve their commuting habits, and reviewing the supply chain to identify more carbon neutral providers. These activities resulted in a 40% reduction in electricity usage and an estimated 20% reduction in overall emission. You can learn more about Hesperia’s sustainability practices by clicking here.
Managing Director Ben Lisle said that this certification further demonstrates Hesperia’s ongoing commitment to social and environmental outcomes.
“We acknowledge that the property market is a significant generator of carbon emissions, so we believe it is important to demonstrate that becoming carbon neutral is achievable without negatively impacting business operations or profitability,” Mr Lisle said.
“At Hesperia, we care deeply about the environment in which we operate. In November of last year, we signed the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings , which was announced at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow during the Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day. Just a few months before that, we became WA’s first B Corporation in the property sector, joining a global network of over 5,000 organisations who are committed to addressing society’s critical challenges together.
“In addition to our focus on reducing carbon emissions in our business operations, all our development projects have mandated carbon neutral goals. Working in this way means that we can continue to help shape the future of our city, without sacrificing the natural environment.
“We understand that today’s consumers rightly expect more sustainable and conscionable business practices. This certification reassures our stakeholders that we share this expectation and will continue hold ourselves to the highest standards. We intend to maintain our carbon neutral status and publicly report on this each year going forward.”
You can learn about Climate Active by clicking here.
