Essendon Fields, working closely with Vicinity Centres, have completed a major upgrade of the lighting within the DFO Essendon car park to more energy efficient LED lighting which will have major environmental benefits as well as a long-term cost reduction for operators.

The new LED lights will result in a 70.54 per cent energy reduction to the operation of the car park lighting, which are necessary for safety during low light periods and at night, and a subsequent significant reduction in greenhouse emissions due to lower electricity usage.

“We’re very excited about this project and acknowledge the Victorian State Government initiative which has supported this lighting upgrade,’’ said Corey Wilson, Senior Facilities Manager at Essendon Fields.

“This is another fantastic step in protecting our local environment today, for a sustainable tomorrow at Essendon Fields. We thank Vicinity Centres who operate DFO Essendon, for their support in the successful completion of this project,’’ he said.

Amanda Thorley, Centre Manager of DFO Essendon, said the upgraded lighting would not only be better for patrons using the carpark as the LED lights generate more effective lighting, but that she’d also received positive feedback from tenants.

“Sustainability underpins all we do to ensure we enrich community experiences and leave a better world for tomorrow. We strive to enhance climate resilience by delivering lower carbon assets, and the replacement of the lighting in the DFO Essendon carpark to LED is certainly a step that helps to reduce our overall energy consumption,’’ she said.

Last year Essendon Fields proudly reported it had offset 100 per cent of the carbon emissions from the lighting on its airport runways, taxiways and aprons. Essendon Fields now looks to the future to determine the next initiative that will further reduce the environmental impact of its lighting, which remains a critical and necessary safety feature of maintaining an airport, and supports urban regeneration plans and reducing the overall carbon footprint for the airport.

With 1 million litres of rainwater storage currently the capacity, Essendon Fields looks to increase this to 1.5 million litres, and careful consideration will go towards the incorporation of water sensitive urban design initiatives into new development. Rooftop solar PV panels will continue to roll out as well, which will create significant power supply to feed back into the EF embedded network. 1,242 panels have been installed, with the intent to grow to 1500-2000 panels and a long-term view to generate over 50% of the electricity needs for the park from a renewable resource.

For more information about the commitment to sustainability at Essendon Fields please visit: https://ef.com.au/about-us/sustainability/