sustainable Melbourne

City Of Melbourne Making Sustainable Waves

The City of Melbourne is becoming a world leader in sustainability – especially in the field of green buildings – and now serves as a great inspiration for other cities looking to get greener and be more sustainable.

Melbourne was presented the C40 and Siemens Climate Leadership Award for Energy Efficient Built Environment in a London ceremony, competing against cities like Berlin and New York for the prize.

“Melbourne, the most liveable city in the world, has now been recognised as having some of the smartest buildings in the world,” said Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, who received the award.

“Every piece of research tells me that a sustainable city with high quality of life will attract the best and brightest and that’s what drives innovation and economic growth.”

Aspects of sustainable buildings encompass the environmental, social, cultural and economic, and Mr Doyle says that Melbourne’s 1,200 Buildings plan, where buildings are retrofitted, certainly brings an economic benefit.

The plan is expected to generate 8,000 jobs and $2 billion for the city’s economy – that’s on top of the gains Melbourne has already made through sustainability. These gains include boosts in employment, construction and building, Gross Local Product and more.

“We are providing building owners with the tools and the know-how to reduce energy use, save water and lower carbon emissions. If you need finance to enable a retrofit, we can facilitate it through the Sustainable Melbourne Fund,” said Mr Doyle.

Taking Melbourne’s ideas on board, what can you do to retrofit your own home to become more sustainable?

Eco friendly products such as energy efficient light bulbs and low-flow showerheads are a couple of simple steps you can take to cut down on your utility use.

As well as this, appliances with high Energy Star ratings are desirable and will save the environment by reducing emissions, while helping you to make financial savings.

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