- A creek and 21ha of degraded farming land were rehabilitated as part of the 300-lot residential development.
- Carbon accounting covered construction hours, fuel volume and soil disturbance up to the developed lots.
- Emissions from soil disturbance are surprisingly high.
The extensive grounds of Bellflower Residential Estate at Sippy Downs in south eastern Queensland were landscaped with a view to achieving carbon neutrality over the longer term. As part of the property’s AU$3 million rehabilitation project, the developer called on Arup to audit its success, keen to showcase the potential of its approach.
This was the first project of its kind undertaken by Arup’s sustainability team in Australia and the consultants took the opportunity to identify the best tools to use for such projects.
After carefully defining the project boundaries, Arup’s consultants collected information about the construction project in order to gauge the carbon it produced. To estimate the contribution of tree-planting and landscaping to the carbon equation, they used sophisticated carbon modelling software. They then compared the carbon cost of constructing roads and services to the added value of the plantings and discovered that the landscaping and creek rehabilitation had, as hoped, offset the construction’s carbon cost.
Arup conservatively estimated that the entire carbon output would be sequestered within 30 years and that the estate’s newly-planted trees were likely to remove carbon dioxide for a further 70 years.
The methodology Arup developed for this project has potential for widespread use by local governments when designing land use regulations that respond to climate change.
The property developer has included Arup’s research and findings in its promotional and educational materials.
The project ran from March to August 2007.
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