We're building the world’s most sustainable shopping centre

In everything we do, we’re driven by a few questions that just about everyone in the retail development business contemplates.

How can we find competitive advantage? What can we do to make a neighbourhood shopping precinct a talked about destination? A place where memories are made because of the way people connect in the space? How can I as a leader find ways to inspire my people to be great?

It’s these questions that have led us to sustainability.

I believe there is no longer any question about whether sustainability is here to stay as a major driver of retail centre design. It is. The question that is, what’s motivating our work in this area? I’d argue most developers are doing it either because they have to, or because they’re driven by ideology. Neither of these extremes make sense. The reason we build is to create centres that people want to be in for both convenience and enjoyment. Why? Because we believe this is the most successful way to return a profit to our shareholders.

Over the course of the Living Building Challenge and designing our Burwood Brickworks project, we have come to the view that building the world’s most sustainable shopping centre can help us achieve both of these goals.

As one of the last large parcels of urban land in the middle-ring of Melbourne, it’s an unparalleled opportunity to ‘get it right’.

Our plans could benefit a potential catchment of 100,000 people through amenity, connection to transport and overall quality of life, all within 15km of the CBD.

And so at the end of the day, we genuinely believe that the sustainability features of this development will increase trading and penetration. While we would probably have a greater margin without these initiatives, we feel it makes up for it by having a stronger benefit for the culture of the centre and its community.

One of the many reasons we believe it will work is that by creating a place full of natural light, fresh air and greenery, we’re creating a meaningful place that feels comfortable and makes people want to stay and shop day and night.

We truly hope this becomes the real-world template for the 21st century town centre.

One where you can live next to a retail offering with not just a supermarket and mini majors, but also essential services like a grocer, butcher, news agency, pharmacy and childcare. To complement this convenience will be entertainment inside and outside through a 6-screen cinema and plenty of outdoor space, blurring the lines between traditional retail and a more contemporary idea of a town centre.

We continually ask ourselves whether the decisions we’re making are enabling us to deliver great product. With a lot of moving parts and a concept has never been built before, things can change quickly. We’ll face a problem and think we have a solution, then we’ll uncover something and realise we need to go back to the drawing board.

Burwood Brickworks is the example of how sustainability makes good business sense, an ideal blend of making profits but also setting new benchmarks in sustainability. I’m sure that’s something even my big sister can agree with.

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Frasers Property would like to acknowledge our collaborators and inspiration: NH Architecture | Joost Bakker | International Living Future Institute