C40 Good Practice Guides: Sydney - Barangaroo South

Summary

The New South Wales (NSW) government owns the 55-acre site, which is managed by the Barangaroo Delivery Authority. The Bangaroo Delivery Authority selected Lendlease to develop the first of three phases to transform the western edge of Sydney’s central business district, a former container terminal, into a new financial services hub. Delivering a Climate Positive result from the development of the site was a requirement of the bidding process, as the NSW Government wanted to highlight Sydney as a gateway to Australia and deliver the first Climate Positive precinct of this size.

Barangaroo South, a 19-acre mixed-use development that will include over 500,000 m² of commercial and residential space, is the first phase of this development. Energy efficient design is supported by low-carbon and renewable energy. Precinct-wide infrastructure for power, cooling, water and waste management provides greater efficiencies and economies of scale.

Results

The Barangaroo South project was the first to complete its Climate Positive Roadmap.^xii The site is currently under construction and 99% of construction waste is being recycled. To date, all three commercial office towers have been awarded 6-Star Green Star Office Design ratings by the Green Building Council of Australia, scoring an unprecedented 85 points, making them Australia’s most sustainable high-rise office buildings. Innovative green leases are being utilised with commercial tenants to encourage and reward more sustainable operation of their buildings and to ensure their part in delivering the Climate Positive outcomes for the development.

Reasons for success

As Climate Positive was a requirement in the bidding process, the developer embraced sustainability, and is using novel strategies such as hiring an “eco-concierge” to support tenants in better utilising the buildings to deliver sustainable outcomes.

Why/when might a city adopt an approach like this

Cities can adopt this approach when they own a large and highly desirable parcel of land and are in a position to conduct a competitive procurement process. By controlling the land and setting a high bar for sustainability targets, the interested developers will come up with creative ideas in the procurement phase, and will deliver to the stipulations of procurement, thereby delivering a win-win result. 

C40 Good Practice Guides

C40's Good Practice Guides offer mayors and urban policymakers roadmaps for tackling climate change, reducing climate risk and encouraging sustainable urban development. With 100 case studies taken from cities of every size, geography and stage of development around the world, the Good Practice Guides provide tangible examples of climate solutions that other cities can learn from. 

The Cimate Positive Development Good Practice Guide is available for download here.  The full collection of C40 Good Practice Guides is available for download here.  

All references can be found in the full guide.