Scentre Group continues on its pathway to net zero with the recent completion of rooftop solar installations at Westfield Fountain Gate and Westfield Knox. Rooftop solar installations at Westfield Hornsby and Westfield Tuggerah will be completed in Q4 2023.
Scentre Group Head of Energy & Renewables, Craig Parr said investing in onsite renewable electricity generation infrastructure was one of the initiatives that will contribute to the Group’s net zero pathway.
“In 2022 we generated 7,806 MWh from solar installations at Westfield Carousel, Westfield Coomera, Westfield Kotara, Westfield Marion and Westfield Plenty Valley.
“When Westfield Hornsby and Westfield Tuggerah are operational, together with recently completed onsite solar projects at Westfield Fountain Gate and Westfield Knox, these four projects will more than double the Group’s solar generation capacity from 5.9MW to 12.2MW.
“In addition to generating renewable electricity through onsite solar, renewable electricity procurement and reducing energy use through our Next Gen Building Analytics initiative and LED lighting installations, will contribute to our emissions reduction over time.”
Other initiatives Scentre Group has progressed recently to progress towards net zero emissions by 2030 include moving its New Zealand Westfield destinations to 100% renewable electricity in January 2022.
An agreement with CleanCo, the Queensland Government owned renewables, low emissions and hydro company, to source 100% renewable electricity to power the Group’s Queensland portfolio from 2025 followed in August.
Scentre Group also implemented its Next Gen Building Analytics initiative across a further 25 Westfield destinations in 2022. This means all 37 Australian Westfield centres are now centrally supported to identify and action opportunities to optimise energy efficiency, ranging from maintenance to complex tuning and reprogramming of air conditioning and building management systems.
The Group has achieved a 38% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions across its portfolio of Westfield destinations since 2014.