Toll, Nike and Stockland team up to earn Australia’s first whole-building carbon neutral honours

Toll’s custom-built Nike warehouse in Melbourne’s Altona North has become the first-ever facility in Australia to achieve a whole-of-building carbon neutral certification under the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS).

The certification of the Toll-Nike logistics facility, owned by Stockland, caps off Toll’s significant investment in energy efficiency at the site, which was named Best Industrial Project at the National Energy Efficiency Awards in 2017. The site’s energy efficiency program featured upgrades to a 2.5 kilometre long conveyor system which is powered by 145 individual electric motors, and the retrofitting of 1,300 light fixtures with high efficiency LEDs. This has led to a halving of the site’s total electricity consumption, exceeding the greenhouse reductions required by NCOS.

The site has also received a Green Star Performance rating, the first Green Star rating for Nike and Toll, and the first in Stockland’s Logistics portfolio.

Marie Varrasso, Nike’s Operations Director, said the success of the facility reflects its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint whilst delivering efficient solutions and savings which can be passed on to its customers directly.

“Through this collaboration, continuous improvements have been introduced into the supply chain, which ultimately benefits Nike’s footwear, apparel and equipment customers. It’s a unique relationship, with innovation at the heart of everything we do.” said Ms Varrasso.

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Toll Global Logistics President Chris Pearce acknowledged that it was the partnership between Toll, Nike and Stockland, that made the carbon neutral certification and Green Star rating possible.

“Toll and Nike’s partnership began when this facility was built in 1999. It was the first distribution centre to be built by Toll’s specialised warehousing division and, at the time, this type of supply chain offering was virtually non-existent in the market.

“It’s fitting that almost 20 years on, Nike, Toll, and Stockland have been awarded this landmark certification – a testament to our continuous innovation. This is a milestone achievement for all and demonstrates our collective commitment to reducing environmental impacts and introducing smarter, more sustainable solutions across our operations,” added Mr Pearce.

Tony D’Addona, General Manager Logistics and Business Parks at Stockland, said Stockland was thrilled to be awarded carbon neutral certification and a Green Star rating for its Altona Distribution Centre. 

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“We have all worked hard to complete a range of sustainability initiatives at our Altona Distribution Centre over the last few years, with the ultimate goal of reducing the warehouse’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” said Mr D’Addona.

“The Carbon Neutral certification process has certainly helped us improve our management approach to sustainability, and has been a worthwhile education process for our warehousing and logistics business. Securing our first official Green Star rating for a logistics property has also helped us improve our approach to sustainability in our Logistics assets and we look forward to continuing to build on this and apply our learnings to future developments, and in operations.”

Toll and Nike have offset the remaining greenhouse emissions generated by the building by investing in forest conservation projects in Tasmania as well as in an energy recovery waste water treatment plant in Thailand. These projects protect local biodiversity and native species support jobs in local communities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.