Leading in sustainability
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Landcom leads the way on sustainability Written by
William Smith Produced by
Ryan Hall
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www.landcom.com.au
LANDCOM
Lauren Kajewski, Director of Sustainability & Learning at Landcom, discusses the company’s sustainability pillars and the benefits the organisation and its communities have reaped
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A
cross the world, organisations are waking up to the necessity of implementing comprehensive sustainability
strategies and the wide-ranging benefits that ensue. Landcom, a land and property development organisation of the government of New South Wales, Australia, can trace its sustainability journey to its first sustainability strategy developed in 2002. Its growing prominence as a sustainability leader is now underpinned by its Sustainable Places Strategy launched in 2017. Lauren Kajewski, Director of Sustainability & Learning, has been with the company for three years. In that time, Kajewski has been pivotal in driving Landcom’s sustainability efforts, implementing a strategy that emphasises transparency, clear targeting and community engagement, among other factors.
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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘2018 HEALTHY AND INCLUSIVE PLACES SURVEY RESULTS’
www.landcom.com.au
LANDCOM
“ I’m proud of how our organisation was able to rally and move really swiftly” — Lauren Kajewski, Director of Sustainability & Learning, Landcom
ience. Healthy & Inclusive Places has the objective of delivering communities founded on equity, affordability and inclusion. The Productive Places pillar has the goal of enabling more than 30,000 jobs by 2036, while Accountable & Collaborative Places reflects Landcom’s commitment to governance and collaboration, both within its own organisation and across the wider supply chain. It is clear from its goals that Landcom has an inclusive definition of
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sustainability, one that extends beyond its organisational practices to the communities in which it operates. All targets are detailed in admirable depth online in the company’s sustainability reports, with specific
Targets
markers of yearly progress. “Get
Landcom’s Sustainable Places Strat-
people on the journey with you so
egy is centred around four pillars,
that they can be involved and share
each with associated targets to
in the benefits,” says Kajewski. “We
measure performance. The first, Cli-
embrace that internally, and use our
mate Resilient Places, is based
IAP2 aligned Join-In Framework to
around delivering low carbon com-
engage our community members so
munities that balance ecological
they can be part of positive change.”
outcomes, reduce climate related stresses and build community resil-
Landcom’s sustainability strategy is not founded in a vacuum; it is in-
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WELCOME DINNER PROJECT AT THORNTON’ 07 formed by extensive research and
credible success,” says Kajewski.
consultation, interacting with the
“We haven’t yet realised that with
broader spectrum of sustainability.
the SDGs. They represent a call to
For instance, the strategy aligns
business, organisations and civil so-
with international frameworks in-
ciety to contribute in any way we
cluding the United Nations’ Paris
can. That’s why we founded our
Agreement, with a commitment to
Sustainable Places Strategy on the
carbon neutral communities by 2028,
SDGs and are reporting against
and the Sustainable Development
them. We aim to be transparent in
Goals (SDGs). Consequently, as well
what we think we are contributing
as reporting on its own goals, the
and how we can make an impact.”
company publishes its contribution
The willingness of Landcom to
to the SDGs, highlighting the specif-
lead by example sent it to fourth
ic ways in which the two overlap.
place worldwide in the 2018 Global
“The millennium goals were an in-
Real Estate Sustainability Benchwww.landcom.com.au
LANDCOM
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mark (GRESB) Developer Assessment,
ever, our CFO talks about the business
up from seventh in 2017. Kajewski
value created by sustainability.”
sees healthy competition as a booster for the progress of sustainability,
Community
saying: “GRESB has been our first
Landcom’s Pillars and their targets are
foray into using sustainability com-
all intensely interrelated, as Kajewski
petitively, and it has really resounded
explains. “Our Climate Resilient
within the organisation. Staff are
Places pillar focuses on mitigating
looking at sustainability differently.
the impacts of climate change at all
That made it a real advantage for our
of our communities. This includes
team. Sustainability is often thought
collaborating with the people living
of as an extra over and a cost to an
there. When we implement resil-
organisation,” says Kajewski. “How-
ience and adaptation plans they are
very people-focused, which con-
approach to sustainability. When
nects into Healthy & Inclusive Places.
she was hired, Kajewski brought
Here we have a strong focus on live-
her experience of sustainability in
ability. Interestingly, residents tell
the private sector to Landcom.
us the most important urban design
“Landcom has a strong legacy in
elements to them are access to
sustainability, but we weren’t think-
green open space and canopy cover,
ing of it as a competitive advantage
which loops us back to how we miti-
to our business, which is exactly
gate the effects of climate change,
how the private sector uses it,” says
such as reducing urban heat island
Kajewski. “The call for a refocus on
– part of Climate Resilient Places.”
sustainability originally came from
This sense of things building
our Board who wanted us to have
from, and feeding into, one another
‘a world class sustainability strategy’.
is evident throughout Landcom’s
It became my job to deliver that.”
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Lauren Kajewski Lauren Kajewski is a successful corporate sustainability professional, with the ability to lead complex environmental and social sustainability projects to effect positive change. Kajewski is the Director of Sustainability & Learning at Landcom — delivering sustainable and affordable communities for the people of NSW. In this role, Lauren is responsible for all facets of sustainability strategy, management, delivery and innovation for Landcom’s portfolio of projects. Kajewski has a Masters of Sustainability & Environmental Management at Harvard University, has recently achieved her Professional Graduate Certificate in Corporate Sustainability & Innovation from Harvard University. www.landcom.com.au
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LA ANNDDC C OM L OM
“ My mum needs to understand what we do and what we achieved in a year. If she can’t, I’ve got a problem” — Lauren Kajewski, Director of Sustainability & Learning, Landcom 10
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www.landcom.com.au
WE’RE NOT JUST SEEING THE BIG PICTURE. TOGETHER, WE’RE BUILDING IT TOO
Landcom’s pioneering vision hasn’t just unlocked lasting value from NSW’s assets. It’s creating resilient, liveable communities that are truly sustainable – socially, economically and environmentally – where the people of NSW can build their futures. And we’re proud to have helped Landcom turn that vision into a market-leading model that can benefit the State and its people for generations to come. Get in touch for more information
So too does the drive to extend Landcom’s commitments reach into
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Year founded
their work with other developers and construction companies. Kajewski details how Landcom has partnered with Clayton Utz, a leading Australian law firm, to develop a rigorous approach of filtering sustainability into their contracts and asset divestment. “Even when we divest an asset we still require a developer to achieve sustainability outcomes. Clayton Utz helped us to
AU$775mn Sales revenue (2018)
2028
Commitment to enabling carbon neutral projects
set very clear goals up front, and
is always a great experience due to
then use a range of mechanisms to
the combination of their vision and
ensure these ambitions are achieved.
their readiness to challenge busi-
They have helped us position this
ness-as-usual practices in order to
strategically within the market – again
return deeper value from their pro-
we use sustainability as a competi-
jects – a mindset which is reflected
tive advantage. There aren’t prolific
throughout the organisation, from
mandatory requirements, but clear-
the Board through to the project
ly articulated outcomes we want
teams. This commitment to innovat-
achieved. This flexibility is essential,
ing beyond the norm and building
and fosters market innovation.”
a new and better standard is some-
Eugene Tan, Special Counsel at
thing which Landcom and Clayton
Clayton Utz, further details the rela-
Utz share a passion for. Together –
tionship with Landcom and the work
with the clarity of Landcom’s vision
they do together to advance the
and without the constraints of prec-
cause of sustainability. “Working with
edent – we have created a new
[Lauren and] the team at Landcom
contracting framework in which the www.landcom.com.au
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value of sustainability is an inherent
contributing towards, and drawing
commercial factor in all of Land-
from, the ever-growing body of sus-
com’s dealings; providing a more
tainability knowledge. “As a State
comprehensive basis for evaluating
Owned Corporation, part of our role
the overall value returned to the
is to lead by example. The sustain-
State, driving competition within the
ability world is small and those of us
private sector to deliver higher qual-
in it are highly collaborative. We’re
ity urban environments and creating
very happy to share knowledge and
places which are focussed on the
pull together to make a difference.”
people of NSW. We are proud to be part of Landcom’s ground-breaking sustainability journey and its transformation of NSW.” In the end, Kajewski sees the sustainability work of Landcom as
Reporting “The lens I always end up using is that my mum needs to understand what we do and what we achieved in a year,” says Kajewski. “If she can’t,
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SKILLS EXCHANGE 2018’ 15 I’ve got a problem.” Consequently,
we are doing – and in a digital age
Landcom has worked with Sydney
that means having an excellent
design agency Walterwakefield to
online presence,” says Kajewski.
move away from huge, dense yearly
“At our core, we communicate
reports. The goal is to make Land-
complex information, simply,” says
com’s sustainability performance
Jaimy Walter, Managing Partner and
results accessible, tangible and eas-
Creative Director at Walterwakefield.
ily digestible. “That’s what
We work with our clients to under-
Walterwakefield have helped us
stand their business strategy
achieve. Our website is now our
implicitly, then employ our visual
one source of truth, is highly interac-
arsenal to deliver these key messag-
tive and preferences infographics
es as effectively as possible. Be
and visual communications over
that through applying logic, clever
text heavy reports. Ultimately we
use of data, or enhancing the mes-
want people to engage with what
sage through the use of pictures, www.landcom.com.au
LANDCOM
“ Our CFO talks about the business value created by sustainability” — Lauren Kajewski, Director of Sustainability & Learning, Landcom infographics or video creation. Whatever most effectively communicates the concept and creates impact.” This transparent publica16
tion of data is cited by Kajewski as important in inspiring others to help contribute towards sustainability within the industry and civil society at large. Of course, it is undoubtedly the case that you can only report on what you know, and Landcom’s data collection efforts are crucial to gathering knowledge on progress towards its goals. “We have a very comprehensive sustainability platform that soaks up data, often in real time,” says Kajewski. “Then, that is synthesised into clear dashboards so we can get a nice clean picture of where things are at.”
Landcom’s data collection efforts are continuously expanding along with the scope of their targets, and consequently Kajewski notes that care must be taken to avoid becoming swamped by irrelevant items. Through cleverly targeted collection, Landcom can give their communities the information that they care about, with Kajewski giving the example of results from their Healthy & Inclusive Places Survey, that measures satisfaction with quality of life – the results of which are then shared back to participants. What does the future hold for Landcom? In Australia’s current property market, Kajewski sees the opportunity to leverage Landcom’s strong sustainability focus. “We’ve recently launched sustainability home rebates in the market,” says Kajewski. “If a homeowner designs and delivers their home to a prescribed standard, which we have set to just shy of a carbon neutral home, then we’ll pay you back what you have invested, up to $15,000.” Such schemes allow the company to achieve sustainability outcomes in www.landcom.com.au
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LANDCOM
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“ The SDGs are a call to business, organisations and civil society to contribute in any way you can” — Lauren Kajewski, Director of Sustainability & Learning, Landcom
circumstances it previously wouldn’t have been able to influence. Innovations such as these have helped to put Landcom back on the sustainability map, a development that Kajewski credits to efforts across the company. “We’ve managed to drive our current
CO MPAN Y FACT S
• Fourth place worldwide in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark Developer Assessment • Committing to being carbon neutral and water positive, with zero waste and net positive ecological outcomes by 2028 19
strategy fast. That’s been due to
become a serious consideration at
some really strong collaboration
every level. “I’m proud of how our
between project teams and my
organisation was able to rally and
team, and also having support from
move really swiftly,” says Kajewski.
our CEO, Executives and the Board.” “That feels like quite an Confidence in the role of sustainability, in both a business and social sense, has filtered through the company to www.landcom.com.au
Landcom Level 14, 60 Station Street Parramatta, NSW 2150 Australia T +(02) 9841 8600 www.landcom.com.au