Sustainability

At Northrop, Sustainability is more than a checklist exercise – it’s part of who we are. It’s in our DNA and embedded in everything we do. From our corporate response to the climate emergency to the outcomes we deliver for our clients and their projects. Through our project work, we create bespoke sustainability strategies that align with each client’s vision and aspirations.

How do we approach it? We take the time to understand our clients’ challenges, ambitions, and commitments. Then we work collaboratively to translate them into clear, practical Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) solutions that support the project’s design, construction, and operational goals in a pragmatic way. This is made possible through our highly experienced team of over 30 sustainability consultants, engineers, building physics specialists, technical modelers, and strategists — all embedded within our Sustainability and wider Integrated Buildings team.

Sustainability isn’t just embedded in the design — it’s achievable, measurable, and integrated from day one. From the outset, we work closely with our in-house building services, structural and civil engineers to ensure we deliver innovative yet practical design solutions across all disciplines in the value chain.

Our experience spans all sectors, including residential, build-to-rent, aged care, health, education, commercial, retail, industrial, and mixed-use precincts. We also partner with corporate organisations and Australian funds to develop and implement their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies and reporting frameworks.

And we do it all with a national focus. With industry-leading sustainability specialists across Australia, we combine our national reach with local insight — scaling to suit any project, anywhere.

We translate your project aspirations into clear, tailored strategies that are grounded in technical and engineering expertise, and achievable for the project . From our involvement in competition and early concept design to delivery during the construction phases, we look for project-specific opportunities, elevating design outcomes, and ensuring that sustainability is buildable, certifiable, and future-ready.

We help our clients address both physical and transitional climate risks early – creating resilient, future-proofed assets through practical, creative, and cost-effective solutions that reduce long-term operational and reputational risk.

We develop a certification pathway that works for your project, your building and your aspirations. Our team brings deep expertise in today’s industry recognised rating tools including Green Star, WELL, and LBC, and just as importantly, we understand how to integrate our advice with architecture, engineering, services, and design management.

We use computational modelling to explore and resolve complex problems early, collaborating with architects and consultants to shape practical, innovative, and buildable outcomes aligned with our clients’ project vision and aspirations. Our capability includes software packages like IES, DesignBuilder, Rhino, Grasshopper, Speckle, Bers Pro, FirstRate5 Hero – helping us to understand energy, daylight, thermal comfort, microclimate assessment, facade optimisation, LCA, embodied carbon and climate adaptation.

With an in-house capability of accredited assessors and deep modelling expertise, we help our client to go beyond just targeting a NABERS rating to achieving certified results in operation. With early engagement on projects, we guide the design decisions to ensure optimal performance in energy and water and following practical completion and occupancy, we provide ongoing monitoring and advice to support the rating commitment and certification.

We seek to deliver compliance with purpose! We make sure we are not just ticking boxes, but aligning our projects with the Federal, National and Local legislative requirements to get real project outcomes – translating often complex requirements into simple solutions. Our team provide early, practical advice and modelling for NCC Section J 2022 and 2025 provisions including BASIX & NatHERS strategies, providing a streamlined consulting process from design through to certification.

• Green Star – Design & As Built, Buildings, Communities, Performance, Interiors
• NABERS
• National Construction Code Section J Code Compliance
• NatHERS Residential Code Compliance
• BASIX – NSW Residential Code Compliance
• Sustainability Planning Advice – BESS Assessments (Vic), Sustainable Buildings SEPP (NSW), State Significant Development Reporting
• Parametric Modelling
• Building Physics Modelling
• Technical Due Dilligence Reporting
• Energy and Water Audits

• Opportunities Assessment
• Feasibility Reviews
• Peer Review
• Green Star Alternate Compliance