Environment - Cromwell Property Group
Select your country Global Cromwell Property Group Asia Pacific Australia Cromwell European REIT New Zealand Europe Cromwell Property Group Europe Germany Denmark France Benelux Sweden Czech Republic Finland Italy Poland UK
Solar panels with sky background

Deliver resilient, revitalised, and sustainable asset portfolios that generate value and meet investor and other stakeholder expectations.

Home ESG Environment

Environmental targets

80% renewable energy by 2025
100% renewable energy by 2030 for operationally controlled assets and spaces
75% waste diverted from landfill by 2030
100% waste diverted from landfill by 2040
Net zero by 2045
Entire portfolio for scope 1, 2, and 3, including tenant emissions and embodied carbon by 2045
Reduce water intensity
in line with relevant geography benchmarks
60% waste recycling by 2040
Achieve full TCFD alignment
with the recommendations by 2025

_

Cromwell Portfolio Maintains
4 Star Green Star Performance Rating

 

Building on our commitment to achieve net zero emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3 by 2045, Cromwell has maintained a 4 Star Green Star Performance Rating certification (v1.2) for building operations, representing best practice in building operations that support healthier, more sustainable and more responsible workplaces.

Green Star Rating System is a nationally recognised certification from the Green Building Council of Australia that independently assesses the operational sustainability of existing buildings across categories such as energy, water, waste, indoor environment quality, and management.

 

Key highlights

Energy and Water Efficiency
  • Portfolio-wide metering system for energy oversight  
  • Five buildings achieved 6 Star NABERS Energy rating in FY26 
  • Six buildings achieved 5 Star NABERS Water rating or higher in FY26
Energy Transition 
  • On-site solar deployment, with a current capacity of 1130kW across 11 buildings
  • Continued commitment to purchase 100% accredited GreenPower from January 2024
Sustainable Operations 
  • Sustained good Indoor Pollutant Control through proactive HVAC management 
  • Enhanced waste management with monitoring systems, education, and improved recycling. 
  • Green cleaning standard built into cleaning services contacts rolled out across key properties  
  • Progressed EV charging capacity assessments and infrastructure readiness across key assets 
  • Embedded ESG targets in construction projects, including emissions reduction, recycling, diversity, and modern slavery compliance. 

 

Cromwell is committed to funding low-carbon,
efficient and resilient buildings that
meet our ESG ambitions

Decarbonisation case studies

Electrification project – Sydney Australia

In Australia, where a large proportion of commercial buildings and the Australian energy grid is reliant on natural gas, electrification is a key step in the decarbonisation.

During the year, we commenced an electrification upgrade at our McKell building, a first for the Sydney CBD. The multi-million-dollar project will convert the 24-storey building’s existing commercial gas-fired heating system to an electric heat-recovery reverse cycle heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

As NABERS moves to favour buildings that are fully electric, removing natural gas, as the electricity grid shifts to increasingly rely on renewable sources, building upgrades such as the McKell project will not only improve our energy ratings, but also reduce emissions in the longer term.

Predicted impact
We also estimate that future proofing the building through this electrification project will achieve a 5% energy reduction of the total base building electricity consumption.
An aerial image of 540 Wickham Street
Journey to net zero for HQ North

Decarbonisation plans for HQ North, 540 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, Queensland were developed in FY24, following the successful decommissioning of the gas-fired power cogeneration plant in FY23.

Installation of 158kW capacity solar PV was completed in November 2023. This is expected to meet approximately 15% of the building’s electricity demand per year. To further enhance energy efficiency, the internal building management system was optimised to fine-tune HVAC start/stop times and lighting was upgraded to LED in common areas. These upgrades, along with the switch to GreenPower in January 2024, resulted in a 66% reduction in scope 2 emissions for the building compared to FY23. Additionally, scope 3 emissions from tenant electricity use also decreased.

Waste reduction workshops were held with tenants and retailers to promote a variety of initiatives. These workshops included topics such as encouraging tenants to reduce plastic waste, building specific information about the recycling streams available, avoiding contamination in recycling and encouraging retailers to reduce packaging. In conjunction with the workshops tenant waste stations were standardised to streamline collection, disposal and data monitoring. The combination of initiatives has improved the waste recycling rate from 40% to 60% in one year, with a corresponding reduction in scope 3 emissions.

As a result of the decommissioning of the cogeneration plant, installing solar and energy efficiency projects, 540 Wickham Street retained its 5.5-star NABERS energy ratings in 2024. This forward planning of an early electrification project, solar installation, 100% GreenPower and 5.5 NABERS energy rating outcome has contributed to the re-signing of two core tenants with these aligned ESG objectives.

Cromwell team supports SolarBuddy

Cromwell partnered with SolarBuddy to help tackle energy poverty by assembling 11 solar-powered StudentBuddy PowerUp kits – solar-powered lights designed to provide safe, reliable lighting for children and families living without consistent access to electricity.

For many households, access to reliable lighting can have a meaningful impact on daily life. Solar-powered lights help reduce reliance on hazardous fuel sources, support children to continue learning after dark and enable families to carry out everyday activities more safely.

The kits are expected to positively impact 275 lives, supporting education, improving safety and reducing reliance on hazardous fuel sources. Emissions reduction equivalent to 165 return short-haul flights.

people activity

Sustainable design, construction and performance case studies

A staircase inside the 100 Creek Street building
Cromwell Head Office, Brisbane

During FY24, in partnership with Gray Puksand and Fore Group, Cromwell delivered a new head office in our Brisbane-based asset, 100 Creek Street. The office was designed by and for our Brisbane-based team and had a strong ESG focus. The design objectives were to create an inclusive place where our people felt a sense of wellbeing, belonging and productivity. In addition, the team had ESG targets for the project and we carefully selected designers and builders who could help us meet those targets. The ESG targets and achievements are listed below.

Targets:

  1. 90% waste diverted from landfill
  2. No fossil fuel used on site
  3. 80% of works completed within 7am – 5pm Monday to Friday
  4. Pay parity at all levels
  5. 4% procurement from First Nations suppliers
  6. 40:40:20 gender diverse project team
  7. High efficiency water fixtures

Achievements:

  1. 97% waste diverted from landfill, amounting to 150t
  2. No fossil fuel or gas-powered tools used on site
  3. 84% works completed within 7am – 5pm Monday to Friday
  4. Pay parity confirmed at all levels
  5. 3.9% first nations procurement
  6. 50:50 gender diverse project team
  7. All water fixtures were a minimum of 4.5 star WELS
Soward Way, Greenway, ACT, Australia

The Department of Social Services were existing tenant-customers
at the Cromwell-owned Tuggeranong Office Park, with their lease due to expire in December 2016. Cromwell constructed a new dedicated building for the department in turn retaining their tenancy for a new 15-year lease.

KEY RESULTS
The sustainable design, construction and performance for the commercial office and tenant-customer fitout were set to provide solutions that outperformed original environmental and energy requirements. Key features:

  • Six levels of integrated space incorporate open space and a series
    of tenant-customer circulation stairs and cantilevered balconies to
    promote floor-to-floor connectivity;
  • A soaring 800 sqm glass atrium through the centre of the building
    provides an abundance of natural light to each floor;
  • Sun shades to eliminate glare and control heat loading;
  • Full Integrated Building Services Network; and
  • Cutting-edge audio-visual technology and LED lighting throughout
    are two of the many initiatives employed to deliver greater
    sustainability.

Testament to its thoughtful design, the building received a 5-Star Green Star Office Design v3 rating, 5.5-Star Base Building NABERS Energy rating, 4.5-Star Base Building NABERS Water rating and 6-Star Tenancy NABERS Energy rating. The Energy rating has further improved to 6-Stars with the recent installation of solar panels.