TWELVE years ago Griff Morris made a pledge to a group of Japanese businessmen to only run businesses that would have a positive environmental impact.
Mr Morris came back to Australia with the aim of making passive solar methods more accessible to the public and Solar Dwellings has strived to meet this goal ever since.
One of the more prominent ways in which he has done this has been co-designing the Subiaco Sustainable Demonstration Home. The home was the result of a partnership between more than 40 local businesses, industry bodies, local government and universities.
At last week’s HIA Greensmart Awards, Solar Dwellings won the awards for professionals of the year and design concept of the year, in large part due to their involvement in the home.
The City of Subiaco won awards for energy efficient home of the year and water wise home of the year. The house also won an award for partnership of the year.
Award judge and town planner Karen Taylor said the house was a “very deserving winner where a lot of coordination was needed between all the sponsors to get it off the ground”.
“Sustainability is such an important thing and the house is an excellent educational tool to promote it to the public,” she said.
Mr Morris told WA Business News “my aim in creating Solar Dwellings was to create a bridge to get sustainability issues introduced to the general public in a way which makes them accessible and affordable”.
“It is so important that greensmart principles are supported and taught within the industry,” he said.
“It was great to win the awards but the key is that this is about partnerships. We are useless without client, government and building industry support.”
Mr Morris said people did not look far enough into the future and needed to realise that sustainability made sense.
“If you can convince people that there are long-term savings both financially and in terms of enhancing the lives of their children, and their children’s children, then everyone should want to come on board,” he said.
The amount of enquiries at Solar Dwellings has picked up as a result of a high level of public interest in the sustainable house. Solar Dwellings, in association with Mirvac Fini and the City of Mandurah have designed a single-storey home in Meadow Springs, Mandurah, to promote passive solar energy principles.
The sustainable house will feature as a standard home on offer by Peter Stannard, and construction will begin soon.
