Our
Purpose.
We’re here to make a difference. Here’s how we’re doing that every day.
Since 2015, we’ve been a culture-driven, people-driven organisation.
Today, we are 100% carbon neutral, and we’re also proud to be a certified B-Corp, which means we use our business as a force for good.
We’re committed to making a difference for everyone we work with – developers, builders, home buyers and tenants – as well as our own people. To do that, we’re working to ensure the residential communities we help create are accessible, inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
We consider every new Core project for how it can make a positive difference through the following five key areas:
Housing affordability.
We design communities to meet the needs and budgets of a range of home buyers.
Australia has once again become gripped by a housing supply and affordability crisis.
As home prices soar in Melbourne’s established suburbs, many buyers are looking to city fringe house-and-land packages for more affordable options. We continue to work with our developer partners to design communities and townhouses that meet the needs and budgets of a range of home buyers.
We also proudly support Homes for Homes which is an independent, not-for-profit organisation created by Australia’s largest and most successful social enterprise, The Big Issue. Homes for Homes generates funds to tackle Australia’s chronic shortage of more than 600,000 social and affordable homes by raising money through donations from property sales.
Core and Balcon Group are proudly supporting Homes for Homes and are committed to donating 0.1% of the sale price of each lot sold at Orana Community in Clyde North to Homes for Homes. The donations are pooled and granted to community housing providers to increase the supply of social and affordable housing across Australia. To date $100,000 has been donated
Diversity & Inclusion.
We aim is to build a culture where we can bring our whole selves to work
A culture that sees our differences as an opportunity for innovation and creativity.
Core’s acceptance of diversity not only creates an environment where our team members feel welcomed and supported but the inclusion of diverse viewpoints helps drive excellence in all we do.
The way we are driving this includes,
Pay Equity. Committing to pay equity for all team members and closing any gender pay gaps that may exist.
Recruitment Practices. That ensures equal access and employment opportunities for all people.
Cultural Differences Recognising and celebrating cultural differences…..
Parental Leave. Providing equal parental leave for all team members, regardless of gender or role. Additionally, to assist with the transition back to work, all caregivers are entitled to reduced hours (75% of agreed work hours) at full pay for the first 4 weeks from returning from parental leave to assist with establishing a new work/life balance.
Removing Gender Labels. We are working towards removing gendered labels and heteronormative suggestions or assumptions in all our policies/practices.
Inclusive Leadership. We have also launched the Leading Teams program to provide our leaders with the tools and resources needed to build strong relationships, strengthen team culture, and foster open and honest communication throughout the wider business. As a result of the implementation, we are seeing highly effective leaders driving company performance and positively impacting those around them.
Family Friendly Workplace. We’re proud to be a certified Family Friendly Workplace. These are workplaces that strive to reduce any tension between work and family by embedding and promoting policies and practices that genuinely support team members to thrive at work and at home.
Wellbeing, health & safety.
Here at Core, we want to foster a culture of happy and healthy team members.
Our Inner Core program is designed to help you live your best Core life every day. From health and wellbeing initiatives such as in-house yoga and meditation, to doing our bit for the community, and providing our team members with best-in-class professional development opportunities.
The 6 elements of Inner Core:
Balance. At Core we have an overall sense of wholeness in our minds and bodies that supports us for the future. Balance will positively impact your life with great offerings like: Annual Health Checks, Massages, Flu Shots, Flexible Working Arrangements, Paid Parental Leave, Fun company events etc.
Clarity. Find your inner calm, strength, and bliss through Inner Core Clarity’s mindfulness and meditation programs. Included in this program is the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) program which provides an anonymous, free service to help team members and their family members through all aspects of their life.
Recognise. At Core we have no fear of perfection, but celebrate and recognise differences, creativity and excellence. Inner Core Recognise will help celebrate life’s moments with you.
Outreach. At Core we aren’t just dreamers, with a strong sense of social awareness we are passionate about leaving our world a better place. Alongside our B-Corp Accreditation, through Inner Core Outreach we give the business and our staff the opportunity to enrich the lives of others by participating in charitable and socially aware initiatives.
Movement. We know the importance of movement to a happy and healthy life, we want to help people make time in their busy lives to move through: yoga sessions at Core Central, walking meetings, and in-office sporting facilities such as our basketball court, slide and table tennis table, as well as everyone has stand up desks.
Elevate. At Core, we have a hunger for knowledge and to continuously grow ourselves – we strive to learn every day. Inner Core Elevate is here to take us to the next level with offerings such as: Individual Development Plans, Annual Performance Reviews, Education and Study Assist, eLearning courses.
Nature & land use.
We minimise the negative impacts of our operations on land and nature and conserve areas of cultural significance.
Urban development has a significant impact on nature – requiring a vast input of raw materials to build, operate, and maintain buildings and homes.
There have been many concerns and discussions recently about the scarcity of timber, which is affected by exports around the globe.
It’s predicted that major public infrastructure activity in Australia will approximately double over the next three years. With the building industry forced to reconsider their building practice and deliverables, and the increased cost of materials we will start to see builders explore other ways to reduce material costs. New materials and product development will be considered that both positively impact the environment and helps reduces costs for the end purchaser.
Our project managers are undertaking EnviroDevelopment Professional Training to enhance and maintain their knowledge of sustainable development practices to share insights with our developer partners and influence the design and development of future townhouses.
Did you know? Bee populations are in decline around the world. So we’re doing something about it at our office, with our own beehive on the rooftop.
Climate change.
We operate our facilities and design communities to reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions as far as possible.
Electricity consumption is the biggest contributor to climate change in Australia.
Residential buildings are responsible for around 24% of overall electricity use and 12% of total carbon emissions in Australia[1]. With soaring fuel and energy prices creating a cost of living crisis, building energy-efficient homes has never been more important, or urgent.
We’re working closely with our developer partners to bring energy-efficient and 7-Star rated homes to market.
There is also a focus on the energy efficiency of our office. We have installed solar panels on our roof and recently became a certified Carbon Neutral business under the federal government’s Climate Active program. But we’re not stopping there. We’re also committed to achieving Net Zero Emissions by 2025.
Climate Active is an ongoing partnership between the Australian Government and businesses to drive voluntary climate action. It’s the only government-accredited carbon-neutral certification scheme in Australia.
[1] https://www.energy.gov.au/We’re a certified B Corp.
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Overview
Core Projects has been a certified B Corp since 2015. Certified B Corporations balance purpose and profit. We’re part of a growing community of industry leaders actively using business as a force for good.
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What is a certified B Corp?
B Corp Certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency on factors ranging from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.
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How did we become certified?
To be a certified B Corp, we are measured against five key pillars of performance: governance, workers, community, environment and customers. Within these areas, we must prove our accountability, performance and transparency every two years against over 300 criteria.