Britomart.
Our Community,
Sustainability.

From Green Star buildings to community events, our Sustainability Report 2021 details a year of sustainable development. Scroll down for links to each chapter of the report. 

Cooper and Company has long had a sustainability framework that we apply to our endeavours. We make decisions with the assumption of long-term ownership and stewardship, which allows us to focus on environmental, social and economic outcomes that build and support each other. 

One of the objectives of creating this, our third annual sustainability report, is benchmarking goals against which we can hold ourselves accountable. These are the sustainability goals we set ourselves for 2020, with commentary on how we’re tracking to meet them.  

In 2020 Britomart was awarded 3 Green Stars in its assessment under the Green Star Performance Tool, administered and audited by the NZ Green Building Council.  The Green Star Performance Tool assesses the environmental impact of Britomart’s buildings through the use of nine impact categories.

This year Britomart broadened its sustainability commitments beyond Green Star Performance ratings to work with Toitū Envirocare. Britomart’s sustainability director Mark Sinclair talks to Jeremy Hansen about assessing carbon emissions and establishing a plan to reduce them.

Britomart’s focus on social sustainability includes a programme of events that run in Takutai Square and elsewhere in the precinct throughout the year. All of these events are designed to build connection with Britomart’s unique sense of place, its history and that of the city around it.

Our new development projects and their Green Star credentials.

Britomart development director Campbell Williamson led construction on The Hotel Britomart, New Zealand’s first 5 Green Star hotel. Here, he talks to Jeremy Hansen about the twists and turns and intense attention to detail that came with the design

The Hotel Britomart’s 5 Green Star rating applies only to the building, but the sustainable ethos has been woven through every decision the hotel makes. Take, for example, the hotel uniforms: as designer Tamzin Hawkins explains to Melinda Williams, every part of them was made as sustainably as possible.

As the New Zealand sustainability lead at engineering consultancy Norman Disney Young, Hayley Koerbin was deeply involved in the myriad of decisions required to ensure The Hotel Britomart achieved a 5 Green Star rating for its design and build. Here, she explains to Jeremy Hansen how Green Star ratings require consideration of every aspect of a building’s construction and operations − and how these decisions benefit the environment.

They were built more than a century ago as warehouses to serve Auckland’s busy port. Now the layers of beautiful timber and brick of Britomart's Barrington and Sofrana Buildings are being stripped back to launch an exciting new phase.

We conduct an annual survey of Britomart community members as part of our reporting under the Green Star Performance Tool. This covers aspects like thermal and acoustic comfort levels, lighting and air quality in buildings. This year we also included questions related to wider environmental issues to establish a benchmark for future surveys. 

Pip Best is the sustainability and climate change lead at EY, advising businesses on how to prepare for the rapid changes that lie ahead. She spoke to Jeremy Hansen about the challenges for New Zealand businesses as part of our Seven Plans for a Better Planet interview series. 

At Allbirds, Hana Kajimura is charged with making the complexities of climate change easily understandable to customers. She spoke to Melinda Williams as part of our Seven Plans for a Better Planet interview series to talk about how her firm is making sustainability part of its DNA. 

Tom Hishon spotlights sustainable seafood at his restaurant, kingi, working with independent suppliers to nurture fish stocks and the ocean. He spoke to Jeremy Hansen as part of our Seven Plans for a Better Planet interview series. 

Helene Pacalin works for Toitū Envirocare, the organisation that's making great strides in helping businesses measure and reduce their carbon emissions. She spoke to Jeremy Hansen as part of our Seven Plans for a Better Planet interview series. 

The curator of Māori art says care for the environment has always been intrinsic to the Māori world view. He spoke to Jeremy Hansen as part of our Seven Plans for a Better Planet interview series. 

Kate van Praagh is the sustainability lead at Westpac, incorporating climate-related goals into every aspect of its business. She spoke to Jeremy Hansen as part of Britomart's Seven Plans for a Better Planet interview series. 

Maggie Hewitt is taking her fashion label, Maggie Marilyn, on a bold sustainability journey. She speaks to Melinda Williams about it as part of Britomart's Seven Plans for a Better Planet interview series. 

From garden to table and back to the garden again, Westpac operates an aspirational circular waste management system in their Britomart head office.

Going backwards in business isn’t usually a good thing – but we’re proud to say we’re starting to go backwards when it comes to carbon emissions.