Green makeover for Ingenia lifestyle villages and holiday parks
Modern, connected living with smaller carbon footprint
Property developer Ingenia Communities is upgrading its portfolio of new and existing lifestyle villages and holiday parks with sustainability measures to lower carbon emissions and reduce electricity costs.
30%
emissions reduction target1
$75m
CEFC finance
100
sites
Our Beveridge community will offer residents the chance to enjoy a modern, connected lifestyle while treading lightly on the planet. It is community living reimagined. With people living longer, retirement dollars need to stretch further. We’re proud to offer our residents homes that represent the future of affordable, sustainable seniors living.John CarfiCEO, Ingenia Communities Group
Our investment
The CEFC has invested $75 million as a corporate loan to Ingenia Communities to encourage greater uptake of energy efficiency and renewable energy across the property sector.
Ingenia holds a $2.6 billion portfolio of residential communities and holiday parks, including a portfolio of affordable all-age rental communities in Melbourne and Brisbane. Ingenia is focused on the development of new land lease communities and has a pipeline of more than 5,200 potential new home sites.
our impact
Pilot leads to landmark development
Under the CEFC commitment, Ingenia Communities participated in the 2021 Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) Green Star Homes pilot. Following participation in the program the Group has committed to delivery of a total of 40 Green Star Homes. These homes will be delivered at the Group’s 262-home Ingenia Lifestyle Springside community in Beveridge, Victoria.
In February 2024, the community received Green Star homes Designed accreditation for all designs across its homes, making it the first large-scale rollout of Green Star homes and setting a new standard for sustainable housing at scale.
The GBCA Green Star Homes Standard, which was released in 2021 for volume home builders, assesses homes against a series of sustainability measures including carbon footprint, how they are powered, energy and water efficiency, ventilation, comfort and climate change resilience.
Beveridge community
Key features include:
- Solar-powered, fully electric homes that eliminate gas and generate renewable energy, saving residents an estimated $2,066 annually in bills compared to 30 year old gas-powered homes2
- High performance insulation and airtight design achieve a minimum of 7.5 star NatHERS rating, surpassing national building code requirements
- Double glazed windows with thermally efficient frames to reduce heat escaping in winter and entering in summer and to reduce noise
- Recycled water delivered through a separate purple pipe system into the homes, which can be used to water the garden
- Lighter coloured roofs to reduce the urban heat island effect, along with roof ventilation to control temperature and limit mould growth.
Targeting sustainability at scale
Ingenia, which is targeting a carbon neutral operation by 2035, is committed to achieving energy efficiencies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from both built communities and business operations. It has delivered on a number of initiatives as part of this commitment, including:
- Climate Disclosure Statement published in May 2023
- Soldiers Point holiday park cabins designed to achieve a 7-Star NatHERS rating
- Installation of more than 2,800 kW of rooftop solar across existing and new communities
- Installation of more than 9,000 LED lights across 61 existing communities since the CEFC corporate facility was established in 2021
- The reduction of plastic waste for toiletries by 40 per cent, to achieve cost savings of 18 per cent across its holiday parks.
According to the Property Council of Australia, buildings account for more than half of Australia’s electricity consumption, and almost a quarter of national emissions. Cleaner and greener homes produce fewer emissions and cost less to heat and cool. This in turn helps Australia make significant advances in decarbonisation.
