I AM PLEASED TO PRESENT MIRVAC'S CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FOR THE 2011 FINANCIAL YEAR.
DURING THE PERIOD WE MAINTAINED OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES, AND TOOK SIGNIFICANT STEPS
TO FURTHER ENTRENCH SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES AT ALL LEVELS OF OPERATION.
Our commitment to sustainability is outcomes-based, innovative and founded on the belief that, as a company, we have a wide-ranging responsibility for the impact of our operations on our community and the environment.
While many of our more public achievements in the sustainability field take place at individual real estate development and investment projects, sustainability principles are equally important at a corporate level. Indeed, maintaining a sustainable business model that delivers across economic cycles is a priority for Mirvac, and achieving an appropriate balance between investment and development activities is key to this objective.
Further, Mirvac is firm in its commitment to ensuring all systems, procedures and practices reflect a high standard of corporate governance. During the year a number of Board committee charters were updated including the strategic sustainability management and monitoring function that now reports directly to the Board. In addition, the Board approved the Group's diversity policy. We believe that our Group's composition should reflect the communities we support and the customers we serve.
You will note that this report is structured around six priority areas which were selected through our stakeholder engagement program which involved key internal and external stakeholders.
Actions and targets have once again been set to measure our progress towards achieving our sustainability objectives. We continue to formally measure and track progress against these actions quarterly, and this report provides a performance update on actions and targets outlined in our last Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report.
Mirvac has a long-standing success in translating philosophies around sustainability into tangible actions that improve the attributes of our investment portfolio and lead the way in the residential development sector.
One key initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is our commitment to achieve an average 4 Star NABERS Energy rating on applicable office buildings managed by our investment division by December 2012. Our demonstrated expertise in applying high efficiency systems and equipment for energy and water management in our designs and management practices plays a significant role in delivering on this commitment. For buildings currently rateable, Mirvac has an average NABERS Energy rating of 3.6.
Our $60+ million refurbishment on 20 Bond Street, Sydney, New South Wales, which was completed this year showcases best practice environmental design through the refurbishment of an existing building. 20 Bond Street has achieved a 4 Star Green Star Office Design V3 rating and is targeting a 5 Star NABERS Energy rating.
Mirvac partners with Bond University to deliver the Mirvac School of Sustainable Development. Now in its fifth year, our partnership offers a unique educational experience in Australia, boasting state-of-the-art facilities, the smallest student-staff ratio in the nation and world class education. We recognise that the practices of sustainable development will become a necessity for all professionals and the Institute's mission is to produce graduates who will be industry leaders in their field and who will bring knowledge of sustainability to the business world.
Mirvac welcomes external assessment of its commitment to sustainability principles, and it was pleasing that in 2011 we achieved top ranking for the global real estate sector in the new FTSE4Good ESG ratings system. Mirvac was also recognised in the highest performing category in the Global Environmental Real Estate Survey. In addition, Mirvac's environmental performance was rated as 'best practice' with the highest possible score in 2011 by CGI Glass Lewis & Co.
I understand that we can always improve, and through our outcomes-based approach, I believe we are certainly on the right track for delivering real benefits to our securityholders, customers, employees and the community. We recognise that acting in a responsible and sustainable manner creates new opportunities, enhances investor value, and improves social and environmental returns.
I look forward to keeping you updated on our sustainability achievements over the coming year and welcome your feedback on this report.
Nicholas Collishaw
Managing Director