Regis Aged Care has announced two major investments as part of its comprehensive environmental sustainability program, which will reduce Co2 emissions by more than 3,700 tonnes per year.
In partnership with Planet Ark Power and Shine On, Regis will be installing more than 4,400 solar panels and over 15,000 LED lights across 35 of its sites over the next three months.
The solar panels, to be installed by Planet Ark Power, will be capable of generating 1.6MWs of electricity and deliver significant cost savings to the ASX-listed aged care provider.
“It’s really important for corporate Australia to play a strong role in ensuring we move towards a carbon neutral economy,” said Paul Klymenko, CEO of Planet Ark.
“It is great to see Regis taking this major step in their sustainability journey, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration which has environmental and economic benefits for Regis and their residents.”
By switching to LED lights, Regis will significantly reduce its CO2 emissions, Shine On’s Managing Director James Johnson said.
“In addition to improving the quality of lighting for residents, our market-leading lights will enable Regis to achieve greater energy savings. With the LED upgrade alone, they are set to reduce their CO2 emissions by over 2,400 tonnes per annum,” Mr Johnson said.
The installations are estimated to see an annual reduction of up to 20 per cent in electricity consumption and around 3,700 tonnes of CO2-e in greenhouse gas emissions across the homes in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.
Energy reduction through solar and LEDs is equivalent to removing around 1,500 cars off the road each year, 1.3 million kilograms of coal burnt.
The up front investment will pay for itself in just under four years.
Regis National Sustainability Manager Dr Kaushik Sridhar said the lighting and solar upgrades would cut electricity use across the 35 residential homes by about 20 per cent, with lighting accounting for up to 35 per of total energy consumption at a typical aged care facility.
The better quality lighting will also improve aesthetics for residents and staff, he said.
“We’ll reduce the amount of energy consumed via more efficient LED technology while producing more of the electricity required on-site via solar. All up we expect to cut electricity use by approximately 20 per cent across the 35 residential homes,” Dr Sridhar said.
“That’s a very good environmental outcome, but it’s also helping improve the operational efficiency of each facility through lighting clarity creating less operational disruptions.”
This rollout is just the first phase of Regis’s program with the remaining phases of upgrades across our portfolio expected to be complete in the next two years.
It is part of Regis’s commitment to bringing to life it’s environmental sustainability statement which was co-signed in July 2018 by CEO Ross Johnston and Chairman Graham Hodges.
In March, Regis announced a research partnership with RMIT University to improve the wellbeing of residents through enhanced air quality monitoring.
The results will develop new evidence aimed at improving quality of life and resilience of older Australians and assisting in climate change adaptation.
This RMIT research project is in collaboration with industry partner, Eco Pacific and funded by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and is one of the successful projects announced by the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change.
Each participating facility will receive equipment installed at their site, free-of-charge, that facilitates fresh filtered air to enhance indoor air quality and ultimately the health and wellbeing of residents.
