Yolk Property Group’s residential development Evermore in Perth’s White Gum Valley has become just the third project in Australia to be recognised as a Global Leader in the prestigious international program One Planet Living.

This achievement places it alongside other internationally recognised One Planet Communities including WGV in Perth, Westwyck Ecovillage in Melbourne, Villages Nature in Paris and Somo Village in San Francisco.

Based on a framework of ten guiding principles developed by international, non-profit sustainability organisation Bioregional, One Planet Living aspires to enable people to live happily within the earth’s resources.

Yolk Property Group Director Tao Bourton said Evermore was an ambitious example of sustainable development that challenged the status quo, drove positive change in the industry and influenced the planning system to make sustainable living easy, affordable and attractive.

“One Planet Living opened my eyes to the breadth of sustainability issues and how it relates to all aspects of our daily lives – everything from health and happiness to zero carbon energy,” Mr Bourton said.

“In a first for Australia, research from the project enabled the development of a governance framework and micro-grid system for solar PV and batteries in strata residential developments.

“We also created a new structure within strata bylaws, now used by the WA Government as a template for future development. Data collected from Evermore will also assist in guiding power authorities in future headworks charges, legislation and infrastructure requirements.”

Mr Bourton said Evermore was the first apartment development for sale in Australia to utilise solar and battery technology in a strata setting and was the first residential development in the country to use blockchain technology to trade renewable energy.

“What we have learned at Evermore has helped put us at the forefront of sustainability and other developers are wanting to visit our sites to learn from them,” he said.

“We want to show that creating sustainable developments is affordable, deliverable and replicable. We need all developers (big and small) to embrace sustainability and challenge themselves.”

Located in the WGV development in the City of Fremantle, Evermore consists of 24 apartments designed to be 100 per cent renewable from day one.

Featuring two separate buildings with 22 at ground car spaces, a communal hub, food garden, native landscaping, onsite composting, bicycle repair station, electric vehicle charge stations and onsite renewable energy and battery back-up, Evermore is almost totally powered by renewable energy.

Completed in December 2018, additional key features of Evermore include:

• Zero carbon demand for building operations with onsite solar and battery storage, along with EV charge stations for transport.
• Shared garden, storage and outdoor dining facilities.
• Transport infrastructure that challenges mainstream approaches to transport modes with car share, electric vehicle infrastructure and bicycle facilities.
• Renewable energy onsite, along with battery storage and renewable energy purchase through the council of residents.
• Winter sun and summer shade with a good cross flow of ventilation to all apartments.
• Communal features including a communal hub with barbeque, communal food garden and bicycle repair station.
• An energy efficient construction system using local labour.
• Materials selection, specification and use of cement replaced with Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag (GGBS) to reduce embodied carbon.
• Establishment of an onsite community with a garden committee, food garden and a get to know your neighbours event.
• Resident guides, survey and induction to the One Planet Action Plan.
• A commitment to ongoing reporting to capture and share learnings of delivering a One Planet Community.

Bioregional Australia’s Executive Director Suzette Jackson said Evermore’s design and construction provided many benefits in terms of low energy demand, shared onsite communal facilities for transport, energy generation, local food, sharing equipment and socialising.

“I congratulate the team for their achievements to date and encourage them to continue to monitor the performance in operation. I look forward to Yolk Property Group’s next One Planet Living development, driving positive change and delivering improved impacts for community,” Ms Jackson said.

Yolk worked with key regional stakeholders such as LandCorp, the City of Fremantle, Curtin University, ARENA (Australian Renewable Energy Agency), CRC Low Carbon Living, Josh Byrne & Associates, Wood and Grieve Engineers and Bioregional Australia Foundation to innovate, integrate research and pursue the One Planet Living goals at Evermore.

For further information on Yolk Property Group visit www.yolkpropertygroup.com.au.