Mansons building at 155 Fanshawe St. Photo / Supplied
Mansons building at 155 Fanshawe St. Photo / Supplied
Mansons TCLM is looking to potentially grow a forest for every new building it develops.
The company, which is the country's largest privately-owned commercial developer, has committed to adding one native tree for every square metre of new office space.
This could mean preserving trees in an existing forest or planting a new forest.
The aim is to increase Mansons' commitment to the environmentally sustainable building by more than offsetting any new carbon footprint.
Mansons calls this its "120 per cent carbon offset for new buildings" scheme.
Culum Manson, a director of Auckland-based Mansons TCLM, says they want to transform the commercial building sector in New Zealand by setting a gold standard in the sustainable quality of their buildings.
"We've been listening to our customers and employees and decided to act now and make the change and commitment," he says.
Mansons building at 136 Fanshawe St. Photo / Supplied
"We plan to add 20 per cent more carbon capture by attaching a forest to every building we develop," he said, clarifying that would mean either preserving trees in an existing forest or planting a new forest.
Manson also said one native tree would be planted for every square metre of new office space developed by the company.
The programme has three steps. It will buy carbon offsets from independent seller Toitū Envirocare; it will buy existing trees in a forest or plant new trees to achieve a further 20 per cent offset and new buildings will have specially dedicated trees in a forest to offset the footprint so tenants will know where their associated forest is.
The first new building the scheme will apply to is the $650 million office block on the former NZ Herald site between Wyndham St and Swanson St in the Auckland CBD now known as Fifty Albert. This is a 15-level tower with 28,873sq m. Mansons will plant 28,873 trees to offset the tower.
Two more buildings in the pipeline will also feature new plantings.
Culum Manson. Photo / Supplied
Mansons TCLM has developed and constructed more green buildings than any other New Zealand company — 24 commercial buildings comprising more than 370,000 square metres of gross floor area completed or under construction.
Every new Mansons TCLM building has also been designed to achieve a 6-Star rating from the NZ Green Building Council. Mansons' sustainability building practices for Green Star ratings include features like harvesting rainwater for grey water use throughout office blocks, energy-saving measures like sensor lights, limiting car parking numbers in basements and dedicating more space to cycle parks with associated showers.
• Mansons is an advertising sponsor of the Herald's Sustainable Business and Finance report
