2019 saw the inception of the Hames Sharley National Sustainability Forum. Comprised of a group of passionate, multi-disciplinary professionals tasked with identifying and developing ongoing initiatives and knowledge on sustainable design and practice. The NSF representatives are based across all six national studios and hold a monthly national forum meeting to gather, create and share knowledge on sustainability - keeping awareness of important issues.

While the forum itself is a relatively new creation, sustainability is embedded as one of Hames Sharley’s core values: We will take responsibility and accountability for the delivery of exceptional sustainable outcomes (environmental, social and economic) in the built environment and articulate these in terms of their actual value.

This year, due to the global climate emergency, our focus will be on environmental sustainability. The NSF is committed to developing design standards that address growing concerns of the effects of our built environment on the World’s natural environment, ecosystems and resources. This focus includes providing Hames Sharley’s design teams with access to sustainable material databases, sustainable methods of design, energy-efficient technology and ongoing information to contribute to designing greener buildings and places. A Hames Sharley ‘all studios’ environmental plan will also be developed and implemented, to ensure our operational carbon footprint is as small as possible.

Hames Sharley is a signatory to the Architects Declare Australia, a declaration acknowledging the twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss as the most serious issue of our time. We will continue to advocate, educate and strive for change within the practice and with our clients and partners.