SINSW is committed to operating in a manner consistent with Sustainable Development principles (Bruntland, 1987 and UN SDGs), federal and state legislation requirements and industry best practice.
For School Infrastructure, this means acting responsibly with recognition that the future matters now. It also means taking impactful steps to preserve and enhance the environments and communities in which we operate. The vision for School Infrastructure is that by 2030 it/we will be a leading provider of sustainable infrastructure that inspires students and enriches learning.
In order to achieve this, it is important to set Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) targets for our projects to innovate and improve practices so projects achieve the desired ESD outcomes.
All school projects in Planning phases must develop a Sustainable Development Plan including sustainability targets, initiatives and an ESD schedule detailing the relevant Green Star/EFSG pathway adopted for the project.
Capital works projects must comply with all statutory requirements and government policies when identifying sustainability needs and requirements.
GREP does not require school facilities to be certified under the Green Star system, however, it prescribes new government facilities to be designed using Green Star as benchmark for best practice. SINSW reports annually against the GREP.
ESD principles must be applied in the design, development and operation of all state assets, and are an important contribution to developing a considered whole of life cost development approach. These principles include
For whole of life considerations see DG01 Whole of Life
It is expected that spaces will have the ability to be easily reconfigured to allow for different activities, and that buildings will be able to easily adapt over time helps in making the facilities sustainable over their expected life.
The NSW Government Resource Efficiency Policy’s purpose is to reduce NSW government agency operating costs by implementing resource efficiency measures, and its implementation is mandatory for all NSW Government agencies, including the Department of Education. The policy includes measures, targets and minimum standards to drive efficiency in energy and water use and waste and also improving air quality.
All new building and upgrade projects must comply and demonstrate adherence to the NSW Government Resource Efficiency Policy issued 21 February 2019.
In accordance with the NSW Government Resource Efficiency Policy all new facilities must be designed and built so that energy consumption is predicted to be at least 10% lower than if build to minimum compliance with National Construction Code requirements.
Each building's system and façade must comply with the corresponding Section J requirements in the National Construction Code. That is, the building cannot show that their façade, or any system, performs worse than the reference building.
The total building’s energy consumption reduction must be achieved without including renewable energy generation in the calculation.
2.3.1 Lighting
Natural daylight reduces energy usage and improves the indoor environmental quality of spaces.
Natural daylight encourages learning and has beneficial effect on health and wellbeing.
Designers must seek to maximise natural daylight in all learning and administrations paces to reduce energy usage, improve the indoor amenity and create a pleasant environment.
Natural day light can be provided via windows, skylight , and the like.
Refer to DG12 Light - Natural for further guidence on natural light benchmarking.
In maximising daylighting, designers must consider the following:
Energy efficiency LED lighting must be installed in all new school buildings and major upgrades of existing school buildings.
For artificial lighting requirements see DG65 Lighting
All new lighting and HVAC systems installed in schools must have timed or sensor feedback functionality for energy conservation.
For lighting control requirements see DG65.03 Automatic Lighting Control
In accordance with the NSW Government Resource Efficiency Policy, all new electrical equipment must be at least 0.5 stars above the market average star rating. In categories where no star ratings are available, equipment purchased should be recognised as high efficiency either by being ENERGY STAR® accredited, in a high efficiency band under Australian Standards or being above-average efficiency of Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) registered products.
Appliances and equipment purchased will be at least the following :
Commercial and industrial-sized clothes dryers (above 10 kg capacity) should aim for high efficiency but will be excluded from this benchmark if there are insufficient models available above the market average.
Equipment purchased in the following categories will have an ENERGY STAR® label recognising its high efficiency:
Equipment purchased in the following categories will meet the definition of ‘high efficiency’ under GEMS:
Equipment purchased in the following categories will meet the following performance benchmarks:
For new schools and new building/s (on an existing school site) a photovoltaic (PV) solar power grid-connect rooftop system must be provided to offset power consumption costs at the school.
PV systems must be installed in line with DG66 Photovoltaic Solar Power Generator
In accordance with the NSW Government Resource Efficiency Policy,All fixtures and fittings must be at least the average WELS star rating by product type. Where WELS rating is not available, use the alternative WaterMark rating scheme.
All new water-using appliances must be at least 0.5 stars above the average Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) star rating by product type, except toilets and urinals, which must be purchased at the average WELS star rating.
Appliances and equipment purchased in the following categories with star ratings under the WELS scheme will be at least :
In addition:
It is DoE policy to include roof water harvesting in projects and tank storage must be included in new schools and encouraged where practical in existing schools, to reduce the demand on drinking water supplies.
The rainwater tank water must be connected to irrigation systems for adjacent landscape/gardens with the major preference being for gravity fed supply to minimise ongoing maintenance.
The rainwater tanks must be connected to toilets for toilet flushing. If this is not feasible, approval must be granted by SINSW.
Where schools are required to install a sprinkler system for fire safety, a closed loop system must be installed to capture and reuse testing and maintenance water, or an alternative non-potable water source.
For more details see DG53 Water
Stormwater management must aim to minimise the transportation of toxicants to waterways and other offsite environments, and maintain the existing hydrological regimes. Due diligence for flooding must be done early to inform building and landscaping design:
Refer to relevant local regulations for stormwater pollution reduction targets.
Refer to DG95 Stormwater for further requirements.
Construction materials must be selected based on the following:
No rainforest timbers, or timbers from high conservation forests, are to be used unless plantation grown. Use only recycled timber, engineered and glued timber composite products, or timber from plantations or from sustainably managed regrowth forests that is FSC, AFS or PEFC certified.
In accordance with the Government Resource Efficiency Policy, all surface coatings, and other volatile organic compound (VOC) emitting products including adhesives, sealants, carpets , carpet tiles and carpet underlays, must be made from low-VOC emission materials.
Paints, adhesives and sealants must not exceed the maximum VOC limits stipulated in the Green Star Buildings rating tool.
Carpets must not exceed the total VOC limits stipulated in the Green Star Buildings tool.
Only low formaldehyde-emitting engineered wood products should be used, such as those that meet the Australian Standards for formaldehyde emission limit E1 (NICNAS classification) or lower. The engineered wood products must not exceed the emissions limits stipulated in the Green Star Buildings rating tool. Engineered wood products include particleboard, plywood, Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF ), Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), High-Pressure Laminate (HPL), Compact Laminate and decorative overlaid wood panels. This requirement excludes formwork.
Schools must be designed, constructed and maintained, without using chemicals for termite and other pest control.
New Buildings: no chemical pesticides and termicide to be used. Preventive treatments to be by physical means and careful design to minimise risk.
Schools sites must conserve for future generations, the biological diversity of genetic materials, species and ecosystems on that site and consider the surrounding natural environment. The design of the facilities must provide unique and valuable environmental conservation learning opportunities and effective environmental modelling to the wider community.
Schools must model best practice design, material use, systems and operational methodology, demonstrating human’s connections to nature and the operation of natural cycles of sun, wind, rain and the four seasons. Schools must connects with nature and incorporate biophilic design principles.
Open space must allow for exploration, and biodiversity and earth education to enhance the site’s outdoor learning potential.
New and refurbished schools must:
An Ecological Assessment Report must be developed for the site to document the following:
Adequate due diligence must be conducted where an area of biodiversity or high ecological value is identified on the site, where at least 50% of this area must be retained. For more details see DG90 Landscape Design
For more details see DG90 Landscape Design
Targets must be established to increase diversion of waste sent to landfill, with a minimum diversion rate target of 90%. Opportunities for re-use and recycling of materials in the construction phase must be identified and implemented.
Designers must seek to use of incorporate building materials which are able to be disassembled for re-use, in conjunction with considerations for the addition and removal of accommodation over time.
A waste storage area must be included in all new school sites. The provision of space must include source separation including bin stations and appropriate signage of waste and receptacles for multiple waste streams, including:
|
Bin Colour |
Waste Stream |
Waste type |
|
Lime Green |
Organics |
Food Organics and Garden Organics |
|
Yellow |
Recycling |
Comingled containers |
|
Blue |
Recycling |
Paper & cardboard |
|
White |
Recycling |
Container Deposit Scheme |
|
Any colour |
Recycling |
Soft Plastic |
|
Red |
General |
General waste |
Designers must refer to AS 4123.7 Mobile waste containers - Colours, markings, and designation requirements for further guidance on bin colour, waste stream and waste type.
Safe methods for vehicle access and the transfer of waste must also be considered.
Operational waste management plan
For new and refurbished schools, an operational waste management plan (OWMP) must be developed to establish operational waste targets, identify opportunities for reuse and recycling in the operation of the facilities and make adequate provision for the facilities to accommodate for the OWMP. The OWMP must consider the below.
A school is committed to maximising conservation of natural resources and minimising environmental harm from waste and the disposal of waste. It is also committed to an effective waste management system that includes recycling and reusing waste products, and safe disposal of waste.
Waste management service contract
Schools must use Contract 9698 in buy.NSW website. This contract is mandatory and covers waste management services (bins, collection, transport, processing, treatment, and disposal). Waste streams include general waste, organic, grease trap, recycling, secure destruction and clinical.
Waste avoidance
Reduce consumption of resources that have the potential to become waste through strategies such as green purchasing - purchasing items with reusable, recyclable, have no packaging, or are biodegradable.
Waste minimisation
All stakeholders must minimise waste through strategies such as:
Reducing waste
Reusing
Increase recycling
Waste disposal
Students, staff and cleaners dispose of waste in accordance with the Waste Management Policy
General waste
Handled with appropriate care and stored in the bins provided for collection by an appropriate authorised service provider under Contract 9698 for transport to a facility appropriate for the purposes of disposing of that waste.
Sanitary waste
Sanitary (including clinical waste where applicable) waste handled by trained (or qualified) personnel using appropriate personal protective equipment and stored in dedicated bins and containers for collection by an appropriate qualified and licensed service provider for transport to a facility appropriate for the purpose of disposing of that waste .
Sites and school communities must be able to withstand natural and urban hazards and adaptively respond to climate change over time, especially for projects involving vulnerable communities e.g. climate generating exacerbated flood, storm surge, inundation, heatwaves, bush fires, extreme storm and other weather events.
School facilities must be able to withstand natural hazards and adapt to shocks and stresses to avoid social and economic costs of interrupted operation and repairing or replacing damaged assets. To achieve this, increasing resilience to natural hazards must be considered in the business case development so that associated costs are budgeted.
An initial assessment of natural hazards and project vulnerability must be carried out, in consultation with resilience experts, to inform the business case and identify hazards where further analysis is required. Both historic and future data should be accounted for in the initial assessment.
Where significant risks are identified in the initial assessment, a comprehensive climate change risk assessment must be undertaken. Any high or extreme risks identified must be addressed through design measures. The assessment must report on at least two different timescales (2050 and 2070) and consider high emissions scenarios consistent with 2C and 4C for each timescale. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) endorsed emissions scenarios should be used to dictate the assessed scenarios.
Ecologically Sustainable Development principles must be included in any new school buildings. All school projects in Planning phases must develop a Sustainable Development Plan including sustainability targets, initiatives and an ESD schedule detailing the relevant Green Star/EFSG pathway adopted for the project.
A Green Star Accredited Professional (GSAP) must be engaged on the project to provide ongoing advice across all project elements related to Green Star.
Benchmarking must be undertaken against the Green Star credits using the edition of the Green Star scorecard current at the time of the assessment. The fcompleted scorecard must demonstrate the project can achieve enough points for the required rating.
Building design must ensure that at least 60% of primary occupied spaces have a clear line of sight to high quality internal or external views. The space must be within 8m from the view.
High quality views include: