The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has awarded Stockland a 6 Star Green Star – Communities rating for its Caloundra South development in Queensland.
It is the largest mixed-use development ever undertaken under single ownership and features the most advanced water reticulation, filtration, storage and treatment system ever installed in any Australian city.
The installation will recycle water, minimise run-off and ensure the protection of the nearby Pumicestone Passage.
Over the next three decades, Caloundra South will grow to a similar size and scale to Maroochydore, Hervey Bay or Gladstone and will be home to around 50,000 people.
According to the GBCA’s CEO, Romilly Madew, Stockland’s achievement cannot be understated.
“Stockland’s 6 Star Green Star rating for Caloundra South demonstrates that it is possible to undertake a development of unprecedented scale and achieve world class environmental and social outcomes,” she said.
“Stockland has done an outstanding job to formulate a world’s best practice approach to water treatment, purification and management and environmental conservation and rehabilitation for its Caloundra South Master Plan, while also demonstrating inspirational thinking around social inclusion that will enhance the ‘liveability’ of this new community.
“Through the application of the GBCA’s Green Star - Communities rating tool, Stockland and other industry partners will help to set new, higher, national benchmarks for community development that stand the test of time for many generations to come.”
Stockland managing director and CEO, Mark Steinert, said the Green Star rating is a glowing endorsement for the soon-to-be-developed Caloundra South project.
He said the accreditation is important because it considers the social and economic sustainability and environmental performance of communities, not just during construction but in perpetuity.
More than 700 hectares, nearly one-third of the site, will be rehabilitated from decades of use as a former pine plantation and designated as a conservation area.
Moreover, annual environmental reporting will assess the development of the project against stringent water quality and biodiversity measures.
Stockland will also establish an environmental education facility and run sustainability awareness programs to promote life-long learning among residents and local school children.
A dedicated Caloundra South economic development strategy will target the creation of 19,500 direct jobs, creating long-term local employment opportunities.
Finally, Stockland will invest in local roads, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure and create a host of new community facilities.
This will include nine separate sporting grounds, numerous parks and playgrounds and a ‘people’s place’ and central park alongside a new town centre.