Premier’s Sustainability Awards winners announced

The group behind the Caulfield to Dandenong level crossing removal project has won the Built Environment category in this year’s Premier’s Sustainability Awards.   

Lendlease, CPB Contractors, WSP, Aurecon, Level Crossing Removal Authority and Metro Trains Melbourne have transformed a previous brownfield rail corridor into 22.5 hectares of new linear park greenfields beneath the structure. 

The Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project is a large-scale upgrade to one of Melbourne’s busiest rail corridors.

Not only is this the biggest re-giving of land in Melbourne since the opening of the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1846, the project also provides significant opportunity to maximise ecological outcomes.

The project involves the construction of five new stations as well as nine level crossing removals, creating renewed village centres at Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Hughesdale, Clayton and Noble Park.

One of the night’s two top honours, the Premier’s Recognition Award, was presented by the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Lily D’Ambrosio to Yume Food for developing an online marketplace for quality surplus food, reducing waste and landfill impact.

Gannawarra Shire Council won the Premier’s Regional Recognition Award for a program that puts sustainability at the centre of their local economic future, and features the first large scale solar farm and battery storage in Victoria.

Sustainability Victoria’s Chief Executive, Stan Krpan said winners across ten categories should be applauded for demonstrating the best of sustainability.

“This year’s finalists and winners come from all sorts of backgrounds and sectors, representing the most wide-ranging projects from the most amount of entries in the awards’ history,” he said.

“The diversity of sustainability endeavours we have seen this year, undertaken by every kind of group, organisation or business imaginable, is outstanding and we’re delighted that the awards can tell their inspiring stories.”

The 2018 Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards winners are:

Built Environment

Lendlease, CPB Contractors, WSP, Aurecon, Level Crossing Removal Authority and Metro Trains Melbourne– Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project. Clayton South. The Caulfield to Dandenong level crossing removal project will ease traffic congestion on Melbourne roads through the removal of rail crossings while also providing 22.5 hectares of greenfields linear parkland to local communities.

Community

Kelly Mrocki: The Girl Who Saved the Frogs Incursion. Glen Iris. Kelly Mrocki runs an incursion for Early Childhood Education Services, reading from her books ‘The Girl Who Saved The Frogs‘ and ‘The Boy Who Saved The Whale‘, and providing hands-on sustainability experiences for our youngest citizens.

Education

Beeac Primary School – Brolga Pathways. Beeac. Students from Beeac Primary School worked with environmental artist Peter Day to develop a project that educates the community about the brolga – a local threatened species – using the arts as a focus.

Environmental Justice

GWMWater – Memorandum of Understanding with Dja Dja Wurrung – South West Loddon Pipeline. Horsham. A Memorandum of Understanding between GWMWater and Dja Dja Wurrung clans proves that respect for country and major infrastructure development can work hand in hand.

Environmental Protection

Zoos Victoria and Phillip Island Nature Parks – When Balloons Fly. Parkville and Phillip Island. A campaign by Zoos Victoria and Philip Island Nature Parks known as When Balloons Fly, Seabirds Die encourages people to use bubbles instead of balloons at outdoor events, reducing plastic pollution and saving marine life.

Government

City of Melbourne, City of Moreland, City of Port Phillip, City of Yarra – Melbourne Renewable Energy Project. Melbourne. The Melbourne Renewable Energy Project marks the first time in Australia that a group of local governments, cultural institutions, universities and corporations have collectively purchased renewable energy from a newly built facility.

Health

Beaconsfield Dental – Beaconsfield Dental Health. Berwick. A dental practice in Berwick leads the way in sustainability through features such as 126 solar panels, water tanks, energy efficient fittings, indigenous garden, dental product recycling programs and an electric car charger for patients’ use.

Innovative Products or Services

Yume Food – Build a Marketplace Exclusively for Surplus Food to Reduce Food Waste. Windsor.  Yume is an online marketplace for quality surplus food products that connects suppliers with buyers – the business model ensures that all good food is enjoyed, which is better for consumers’ pockets and for the planet.

Large Business

IKEA Richmond – IKEA Richmond Refurbishment Project. A major refurbishment of the IKEA Richmond outlet has been achieved using key sustainability and energy saving principles, and is now used to teach the value of sustainability principles to customers, staff and the broader community.

Small and Medium Sized Business

Yume Food – Build a Marketplace Exclusively for Surplus Food to Reduce Food Waste. Windsor. Yume is an online marketplace for quality surplus food products that connects suppliers with buyers to help mitigate the 9.5 million tonnes of food that annually go to landfill.

sustainabilityawards.vic.gov.au