Globally iconic venue now a world leader in social sustainability with the help of Honeywell.
Honeywell, a Sydney Opera House Global Goals partner since 2021, has helped the UNESCO World Heritage-listed building achieve a Six Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).
Key to this achievement was retrofitting the Sydney Opera House with Honeywell’s innovative, ready now technology to help support more sustainable operations and to reduce the building’s environmental impact.
The Sydney Opera House is one of the first UNESCO World Heritage-listed buildings to receive a Six Star Green Starrating, which represents ‘World Leadership’ in environmental and social sustainability operations.
This achievement is the result of continually improving the building’s performance, reducing its carbon emissions and maintaining its carbon neutral certification.
“Sustainability is in the Sydney Opera House’s DNA. Architect Jørn Utzon incorporated sustainable design into the fabric of the building in the 1960s. Now, as we approach our 50th birthday later this year, we continue to look for ways to build on this legacy by embedding sustainable thinking into everything we do,” said Louise Herron AM, CEO, Sydney Opera House.
“The Sydney Opera House takes a thoughtful and deliberate approach to minimize its impact on the environment while providing a world-class experience for its occupants – all while carefully protecting its UNESCO World Heritage-listed status,” said Billal Hammoud, President and CEO, Honeywell Building Technologies.
The Sydney Opera House is a pioneer in leveraging new technology to further its sustainability initiatives, including piloting solutions like the Honeywell Buildings Sustainability Manager, a ready now software platform that provides better visibility of energy use and Scope One and Two carbon emissions – down to an asset or device level – without compromising on occupant comfort.
The Six Star Green Star rating centers on innovation and a long-lasting commitment to sustainability.
Collaborating closely with the Sydney Opera House’s engineering team, Honeywell has tailored the system to the unique requirements of a performing arts building, while leveraging existing systems such as the building’s pioneering seawater cooling system.
Building operations at the Sydney Opera House are anchored by the Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI), a comprehensive solution that monitors and controls the building management system (BMS), as well as hardware and equipment throughout the building’s ecosystem.
Using the system as a single point of data analysis, the teams can more effectively monitor and control systems to support peak performance.
For example, the system captures information on ticket sales to enable efficient temperature scheduling in performance venues, switching heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment on and off and calculating baseline energy consumption.
In instances of high energy demand, the BMS alerts the building to respond by selectively shedding electricity loads.
Additionally, the air circulation system automatically shuts down outside air intakes during bushfire smoke events to improve IAQ and occupant experience.
