Knight Frank’s Asset Management Services (AMS) team in Perth has recently been recognised for its efforts in making the city’s Workzone East building one of the most highly environmentally credentialled commercial buildings.

The management team, comprising of Janitha Kaushal and Dianna Le, and supported by Grant Reid and Terri Taylor, won the Environmental Impact Award of the Year Award at the RICS Australia Awards 2024.

According to RICS, in conjunction with the asset owner RF Corval and Cundall, Knight Frank’s AMS team have not only achieved many sustainability firsts with the Workzone East building but are continuing to produce tangible results by committing to electrification over the next decade whilst ensuring high levels of client and tenant satisfaction. 

Built in 2013, Perth’s seven-storey Workzone East building, located at 1 Nash Street in the CBD, accommodates seven levels of office space with a total net lettable area of 12,361sq m. It has a roof-level plant area and car parking provided within the basement for 83 car bays including electric chargers.  

It continues to be one of the most high credentialled buildings in the city in terms of environmental achievements.

The property was the first commercial building in Western Australia to achieve a carbon neutral status, which occurred in 2021. In 2023, it became the second carbon neutral building in Perth to achieve a 6-Star NABERS Energy Rating, with the first being Workzone West, also managed by Knight Frank.

Workzone East was most recently recognised by Platinum Waterwise Building of the Year in May this year for saving over 1.1 million litres of water. 

Initiatives undertaken by Knight Frank’s Perth AMS team to make Workzone East environmentally friendly range from the installation of heat plant electrification to ‘A Gift of Seeds’ tenant activations and Waste Watchers @ Work volunteer groups.

As part of a goal to reach a net zero target for Workzone East in 2025, the building’s gas boilers were replaced with an energy efficient heat pump system for the end-of-trip facilities, saving around 70% of energy consumption. 

99kW PV solar panels commissioned in 2023 on the roof space also generated renewable energy for the base building system.

More sustainability milestones for Workzone East are to come, with a goal for the property to be fully electrified by 2030, by replacing gas boilers with a heat pump system for space heating.

Knight Frank’s Senior Facilities Manager Janitha Kaushal said it was an honour to have received the RICS award.

“As a team, and in collaboration with RF Corval and Cundall, we have been dedicated to setting a standard in Perth for sustainability with Workzone East,” he said.

“We look forward to achieving more milestones for this building as we continuously look to implement new initiatives, keeping at the forefront of changes in the industry.

“ESG has only become of greater importance in recent years, and will now remain a fundamental part of asset strategy for all clients.

“This will be particularly the case as we see the implementation of mandatory sustainability reporting from the 2025 financial year, and investor and tenant demand for action on ESG continues to be strong.”

RF Corval Head of Asset Management Con Tsioulos said: “We acknowledge that building owners play an integral role in improving the sustainability of property and making a positive contribution to the environment by implementing energy efficient initiatives.

“We are thrilled that the hard work and dedication shown by the Knight Frank team at Workzone East has been recognised by RICS Australia and that they have won the Environmental Impact of the Year Award.”

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