Working with the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the nation’s most renowned organisation in green building, we have converted our Westfield Bondi Junction Boutique into a fully-functional, 5-star rated and to be certified Green Store. Such a qualification recognises a standard of excellence in sustainable and environmentally conscious design, construction and operation.

Despite the challenges associated with creating a green retail space, particularly that innovation in retail fit out is less evolved and that there are significant time pressures involved which directly impacts consumer trading, we persisted with the process to demonstrate our dedication to reducing waste and promoting sustainable habits for our consumers.

The large centre island unit is one of the highlights. Called an “Icebreaker” because customers are welcomed to the store by offering a hand spa. And there is something special about the stone used for the unit.

Forging a partnership with Betta Stone, an Australian-based company who are pioneers in producing engineered benchtops from recycled glass, we were able to supply collected glass from our in-store TerraCycle program for the manufacture of the Boutique’s benchtops and icebreaker sink. A first for Betta Stone, this repurposing of waste enabled us to close the loop on the circular economy.

The opening of the Green Store marks the start of a new chapter in our sustainability journey and as part of its ongoing maintenance will be monitored for new ways that resource consumption can be reduced. For instance,

• There will be a separate water meter in the store to measure and set reduction targets
• All electricity supply for back of store will run on sensors while LED lights and signage in the front of store will run on timers

As Cultivators of Change… we will continue to challenge ourselves — the way we think and most importantly, the way we act.