Lowering Costs in a High Rise Apartment
Australia is becoming increasingly urbanised and our capital cities populations are expected to grow by an average of 47% by 2031, according to the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council Cities Report 2010.
Common property is one. Almost half the energy consumed in some apartment buildings is used in common areas and facilities such as corridors, car parks and hot water systems. Around 30 per cent of water use across capital cities comes from apartment buildings, and most do not have composting facilities that would greatly assist residents to reduce landfill waste.
There is a wiki designed to provide simple and effective advice to people wishing to make sustainable changes to apartment buildings: www.greenstrata.com.au
If you're struggling to convince your body corporate to implement environmentally sustainable building practices, or just don't know where to start, there are solutions.
Get your facts straight: Find out how decisions concerning your building are made and what your rights are.
Love thy neighbour: Foster a greater sense of community by getting to know your body corporate and the other tenants. These are the people who make decisions about "greening" the building.
Know your impact: Undertake an audit of common property energy and water use - by yourself or with a third-party. The audit will determine wasteful practices and identify costs.
Money talks; Body Corporate is responsible for energy and water-use costs, so when you know what these are, you can then present the Body Corporate with cost-saving strategies and suggestions for sustainable changes. Consider backing up these strategies with case studies of apartment buildings that have successfully reduced their eco-footprint.
Identify the solutions: Check out www.greenstrata.com.au for a comprehensive guide to effecting sustainable changes in apartment buildings.
Do you live in an apartment? Have any tips on how to convince your body corporate to be sustainable?
Source: F. Geerts - Australian Conservation Foundation
By Holly McCarthy, GreenBizCheck
