Westpac's office near Britomart uses renewable timbers and low-formaldehyde materials. Photo / Ted Baghurst
Westpac's office near Britomart uses renewable timbers and low-formaldehyde materials. Photo / Ted Baghurst
For Westpac, gone are the days of vanilla office spaces and employees working in silos. Today the bank's headquarters, on Takutai Square in Auckland's Britomart precinct is all about social and environmental sustainability.
Until 2009, Westpac's corporate headquarters spanned seven locations across Auckland and the concept of environmentally sustainable buildings was non-existent. So in 2006, when the bank decided to relocate its corporate headquarters into one central location, it decided to do it right
Westpac's move into its head office in 2009 resulted in the bank occupying one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable buildings in the country, as well as being the first heritage building in NZ to achieve a Five Green Star building certification by the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC).
The building's Green Star rating was achieved using a three-pronged design strategy: site-selection, design, and fit out.
According to the bank's properties project director Roger Butcher, it was important that the new venue was situated a stone's throw away from Auckland's central transportation hub so that all 1900 staff could tap into the public transport network.
"The beauty of Britomart is that you have all of the city's key modes of public transport converging into one hub. That's been really important for us from a sustainability point of view".
From a design angle, smart planning, technological innovation and integrated control systems underpin the building's high performance. The buildings feature a number of energy-efficient systems and technologies, including daylight dimming, occupancy sensors, and small light zones, all reducing lighting requirements.
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning control systems draw fresh air from outdoors to regulate ventilation, temperature and humidity, minimise the buildings' heating and cooling zones and subsequent energy use.
Water use is kept to a minimum through low-flow fittings and hot water is heated close to where it's needed.
Recycling stations separating waste into landfill, recycling and compostable (food) waste are found in every kitchen. Neil Wilkins, Westpac's head of sourcing and properties, says all waste is weighed per floor. "We have a competition to see which floor can produce the least waste. It's become quite a powerful tool."
Butcher also highlights how the company went through an extensive "fine-tuning period" over 18 months to ensure anomalies in the building's efficiency were ironed out.
This has significantly reduced the building's operational load and secured its "low-end" rating in EECA's energy use per metre square for office use.
Westpac Britomart's energy consumption reduced seven per cent between 2008 to 2013, over and above initial efficiencies achieved through the new build.
Most of Westpac's office furniture is recycled, reused or donated. Photo / Ted Baghurst
As for fit-out, 95 per cent of furniture from Westpac's previous office spaces was either recycled, reused or donated during the shift into Britomart.
The company developed a "cradle to cradle" philosophy around furniture, equipment and office procurement. All supplier agreements require cradle -to-cradle considerations and take-back mandates and the "111 Navy Chair", a sustainable, classic chair made of 111 recycled PET (Coke) bottles, are scattered throughout all communal areas.
While a struggle for some, Butcher says this actually forced many suppliers to change and renew the way they operated - for the better.
The building's interior was also constructed using renewable timbers, low VOC (volatile organic compounds) and low formaldehyde materials.
Although ahead of the pack environmentally, Westpac Britomart also exudes a strong social sustainability element. Natural lighting, open space and social spaces are in abundance. Windows and outdoor areas with views across Auckland's harbour and inner city feature throughout the building's 12 floors.
Outdoor terraces with BBQ areas, panoramic views and cafés are also selling points of the building. These, coupled with the site's immediate proximity to the edgy Britomart retail precinct and gyms, have made Westpac an enviable place to work.
Butcher says after its move to Britomart the bank experienced a substantial increase in employee retention rates within the first year, which also drastically reduced staff retraining and recruitment costs.
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