Levande making good on sustainability goals

Retirement living operator Levande is progressing its sustainability promise with work underway to meet the aims of its first sustainability framework.

The owner and operator of 58 retirement villages across four states talked about its focus to shape its sustainability goals when it launched last year. It then appointed Dr Kaushik Sridhar as head of sustainability earlier this year, and last month, launched “a comprehensive roadmap” to guide environmental and social responsibility.

“In the month since the launch of Levande’s Sustainability Framework, the response has been uniformly positive,” Dr Sridhar told Australian Ageing Agenda.

“Both our staff and our residents are showing enthusiasm and commitment towards embracing sustainability as a core value within our villages and business.”

Levande provides community living and support services to 11,000 seniors and employs more than 500 people. Its sustainability framework is underpinned by four focus areas:

• healthy villages and happy residents
• sustainable operations
• engagement and education
• governance and reporting.

The overarching goal of the framework is to reduce emissions, create energy efficient retirement villages and create a legacy of responsible stewardship, said Dr Sridhar.

“We aim to not only minimise our environmental footprint, but also to inspire and empower individuals to make sustainable choices that have an impact beyond our business.”

According to the roadmap, sustainability goals for the current financial year include:

• develop environmentally sustainable development guidelines
• implement a wellbeing proposition
• set emissions targets and develop a de-carbonisation roadmap
• develop renewables procurement approach
• develop a diversity, equity and inclusion strategy
• develop a sustainability website.

The “strong progress” to date includes energy audits in several villages and the development of an emissions reduction plan to promote energy efficiency and eco-friendly practices such as mulching and recycling, said Dr Sridhar.

“We’re hearing anecdotally of widespread improvements in awareness of sustainability as a concept, as well as practical examples like an expansion of our solar installations. And there are ongoing educational campaigns such as our sustainability lifestyle calendar, with a theme each month focusing on topics like energy consumption, managing waste responsibly, and caring for nature,” he said.

“These are helping to foster a culture of sustainability within Levande, which will drive continuous progress.”

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