| 35 LIFESTYLE Arvida Group Arvida’s Park Lane community in Christchurch has a building made from cross laminated timber, has solar panels on the roof and introduced electric cars for residents to use. The Aria Bay experience - page 36 ingly important component of sustainability is the vital role Arvida plays in environmental management, particularly in tackling climate change, he says. “As a listed company we recognise the growing expectations of our stakeholders regarding our environmental, social and governance performance and credentials, including the role we can play in reducing emissions and our broader environmental footprint. As such this has been a key area of focus for the company during the year and our current endeavours are reflected in our Carbon Disclosure Project 2021 rating of ‘B-’,which demonstrates the active steps we are taking to manage climate change in our business. We have established a sustainability working group that comprises three directors, three senior executives and the Arvida head of sustainability and compliance. A sustainability framework, including embedded targets and performance indicators, has been developed for the group that is aligned with the four pillars of our strategy.” He says the team is focused on reviewing Homestar and Green Star building frameworks and looking at how these can be incorporated into Arvida’s new buildings. For example Arvida’s Park Lane community in Christchurch has a building made from cross laminated timber, which demonstrates good heat retention and acoustic ratings, has solar panels on the roof and introduced electric cars for residents to use. “The benefits of shared zero-emission electric vehicles are considerable. Residents don’t have a car depreciating each year, there are no running and maintenance costs to worry about, cleaning and grooming is all taken care of, and the cars are super-easy to drive. What’s more, it feels good to know that the car you’re driving isn’t adding to climate change. We currently have free-to-use electric vehicle fleets at St Albans and Park Lane in Christchurch, where less requirement for parking has given us more scope for extra community facilities.” Jeremy says that the aging of New Zealand’s population will continue to drive demand for aged care services and retirement living options. At the same time, technological change and entry of the ‘boomer’ generation into retirement mean there is a transition under way to enhanced customer choice.
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