Building sustainable and green aged care facilities

Going green is becoming a bigger and bigger focus in many different industries and some aged care providers are catching on to this new trend when building or refurbishing facilities.

Aged care always tries to push the bounds in the way of new initiatives, programs or technologies to benefit older people, so why not the very facilities that house our most vulnerable?

There is a range of benefits to creating a sustainable and green facility, including:

• Long-term financial benefits, including operational costs and equipment costs
• Better management of temperature throughout a facility, which can ensure all residents are experiencing thermal comfort without having to put on the air conditioning that can lead to some being hot or cold
• Improved air quality for residents, staff, and the community, this has become an important factor with ongoing COVID-19 issues in aged care facilities where ventilation and air flow is important, as well as cleaner air running through to residents and staff
• Facility is more sustainable and able to provide for itself – ie, captured water can go into the gardens or products are recycled and reducing waste
• Improvement on staff morale as they feel like they are part of a beneficial green and sustainable movement

Sustainable and green aged care facilities are possible, although providers wanting to develop these types of buildings may face a range of challenges to reap the benefits. But with the right knowledge and support it doesn’t have to be impossible and can be achievable for any provider – in big or small ways.

What do sustainable buildings look like?

Aged care facilities can be just as environmentally harmful as any other building, like office buildings. 

An environmentally friendly facility is one that factors in green and sustainable methods throughout the whole building process. From the design to the construction, as well as in the fit out and the operation of the facility once completed.

Sustainable facilities could look like:

• Buildings with a focus on renewable energies over fossil fuels
• Efficiency in the use of water, energy and other resources
• Designing a facility that is positioned for optimum airflow and temperature control – which can lower your energy usage
• Utilising energy-efficient products and equipment within the care home
• Sourcing environmentally friendly materials for the build that are non-toxic and ethically sourced – like recycled concrete or non-plastic lined carpet – which also means the materials you use have a low impact on the environment it was taken from
• Considering the residents and their quality of life when they live in the building through the design and construction
• Processes are in place to reduce your carbon footprint and waste management

Moving towards a carbon neutral footprint can range from big steps to small steps, it’s about finding the best option that would best suit your facilities, your staff, your residents, and your bottom line.

Implementing green change

Putting in place green and sustainable measures in your facility isn’t just about construction – it is so much more.

As a provider, you need to make sure this implementation runs from the Board and down to staff to ensure that everyone is across this change.

It can be ideal to have a sustainable model or strategy in place to ensure you are reaching the targets that you wish to achieve within your organisation.

From there, you can contact providers or suppliers of sustainable and green products and equipment. Check the costing, the return on investment you will receive, as well as the green benefits it will provide your facility.

Then you can start implementing these sustainable measures within your facilities, whether that is from the construction point or if you are retrofitting an existing build.

Benefits of sustainable aged care

One of the biggest benefits of building a sustainable facility is the potential of an incredible long-term return on investment (ROI).

For aged care facilities at the moment, Development Director of Rockpool Residential Aged Care, Bill Summers, said operating costs are a big financial issue for many operators, so putting in place systems that could lower your operating cost in the future far outways the immediate cost of putting them in place.

Mr Summers said getting sustainable options at his facility approved by his Board has been an easier process because he is able to validate those upfront costs to his board because he can demonstrate the lower operational costs over time.

“It is the operating margins that are just under such dire threat at the moment. So anything that can contribute to our bottom line from an operational point of view, it has got to be a huge help,” he said.

“Unfortunately, [aged care providers] put so much energy into how we can keep our head above water and it shouldn’t be that. That shouldn’t be our major motivator, it should be incidental to what we do.”

At Rockpool Residential Aged Care one unintended benefit of using environmentally friendly products was discovered in an unexpected area. Continence management has improved due to the bidets in their ensuites, which has also saved the provider money on their continence program.

Small sustainable changes for already built facilities

There are some things you can do to make a facility more sustainable if it is already built. 

Ways to make your facility more sustainable and green could include:

• Using energy efficient appliances
• Audits of electricity usage and putting in place energy saving measures
• Adding movement sensors for lights in rooms throughout the facility – to turn off lights in unused rooms
• Installing rain tanks for water collection
• Reduce the use of harsh chemicals around the facility, including through laundry and cleaning products
• Better insulate the home, for example, by installing double glazed windows

One way to be more sustainable and lower your operating costs, in the long run, is switching to electricity only and moving away from fossil fuels.

For example, if you currently have gas-run dryers and laundry machines, you could upgrade to electric dryers and laundry machines, which will be more financially beneficial because the operating cost of electricity is a lot more competitive from an operation standpoint.

However, Mr Summers thinks it could be difficult to find capital available to put towards retrofitting your current facility.

“When you are building, you have already made a commitment to spend a certain amount of capital and throwing a few extra things in, where you are increasing the capital cost but reducing the long-term operating costs, is totally accessible. However, once you are built, finding capital is a lot harder,” he explained.

But Mr Summers recommends only buying new sustainable products to replace others if you need to.

Mr Penn agreed that you can make changes to your technology and engineering around an aged care facility to have a site-wide benefit both financially and sustainably.

Mr Penn added that modifications to a facility can be disruptive to residents, because it is likely most rooms would be occupied, so it may require delicate installation to ensure residents, or staff, aren’t impacted by this work.

Even these small changes around your facility can be financially beneficial and improve on your carbon footprint.

Challenges of sustainable aged care

Some challenges aged care providers may face if they wish to build a sustainable facility include:

• High upfront costs and long-term returns
• Sourcing environmentally friendly resources and materials can take time
• Getting accreditation for being a sustainable facility can cost – if you decide to go that route – and is a long process
• May take more planning to organise a sustainable build as it can be difficult to get good site orientation and sustainable designs in place on an aged care facility on such a large scale

Because nursing homes are big facilities there can be challenges with designing such a site to be sustainable. Developing an aged care facility to be sustainable and green isn’t the easiest task. 

A lot of planning and thought needs to go into creating sustainable residential aged care and, usually, it requires a lot of upfront costs.

Jamie Penn, Founder, Director, and Architect of SPH Architecture, said that many aged care providers may be dissuaded from going the sustainable route because of the upfront costs.

The Western Australian company is a specialist in aged care and retirement living architecture and interior design, responsible for 

“A lot of it is that initial cost outlay to get those benefits. Unfortunately, the Government funding that aged care providers receive is generally fixed based on care needs, which determines how much the provider is willing to spend on a facility,” Mr Penn explained.

“There is a balance between the payback periods in terms of doing green initiatives within a building.”

These challenges would need to be considered by your provider to see if these issues outway the overall benefits in the long term, as well as ways to overcome those challenges.

This could include:

• Indepth financial modelling to determine if going sustainable is a viable and beneficial movement for your business
• Giving yourself adequate time to play and implement sustainable builds
• Creating sustainability measures, like builds, within your ten year plan strategy

If you make the appropriate adjustments, you may be able to head in the sustainable and green direction in your facilities.

Do you need to get sustainability accreditation?

The Green Building Council Australia (GBCA) provides Green Star accreditation to Australian buildings for sustainability and green buildings. 

A 5 Star Green Star rating was provided to a Queensland aged care facility recently.

Rockpool Residential Aged Care in Carseldine has only just opened this year and went through the extensive process of getting the facility accredited through the GBCA.

The GBCA can be very strict on requirements for getting accreditation at this level, so Rockpool had to make sure their facility was sustainable and green at every step of the process – from design to construction to operation.

Mr Summers explained that while all the Rockpool facilities are environmentally friendly and sustainably conscious, its Carseldine home was the first facility to go through the 5 Star Green Star accreditation process.

However, Mr Summers said you don’t have to get accreditation to be green and sustainable in your builds, and all providers should aim to be creative, sustainable and efficient when constructing new facilities.

No matter if it is small changes around your facility to make it more sustainable and cost effective or overarching sustainable construction from the ground up, all attempts you make to be sustainable and green makes a difference.

Are you thinking of building a green and sustainable facility? Or putting in place more sustainable technology? Tell us about it in the comments below.