The Sustainable Melbourne Fund was established by the Melbourne City Council in 2002 with a mission to support businesses wishing to invest in projects that deliver an environmental benefit to buildings across the city. Since that time the fund has been expanded to include 24 councils across Victoria and is the largest of its kind in the country.
How does it Work?
The fund offers businesses and landlords with a special finance agreement called Environmental Upgrade Finance. It offers some unique benefits to other types of finance agreements to make it easy to complete upgrade projects and support project paybacks periods.
What’s different from other loans?
No requirement for security
100% project finance, including hard and soft costs
Term flexibility between 4-15 years to support project success
Repayment is statutory charge paid via rates
Existing banks consent is not required
Repayment is transferrable between owners and tenants
Simple application handled completely by the SMF
Multiple approved solutions can be consolidated into one loan
The EUA Finance Arrangement
With no upfront costs and repayment via council rates these finance agreements offer an attractive option to businesses and landlords alike.
For a business, the clear benefit is to enable sustainable initiatives that reduce operating costs and align with brand equity. For landlords and owner occupiers, the finance arrangement allows for capital improvements to your buildings that will increase property value and make the property more attractive to tenants.
How does eWater fit in
eWater Systems offer businesses and landlords a highly effective environmental upgrade that is approved for an EUA loan. Our hygiene systems enable a cheaper, safer and more sustainable alternative to the use of packaged chemicals for a business.
Business Benefits
eWater hygiene systems allow businesses to remove the majority of packaged chemicals from their operations via a proven toxic free and biodegradable alternative. With on demand production it is like having your own production plant in your kitchens and cleaning facilities to produce when and where you need. As a toxic free product there are no PPE requirements and no residual chemicals present in your operations.
Landlord Benefits
eWater Systems is an accepted technology for both the WELL building standards and Greenstar and thus provides a pathway for landlords to improve both the green ratings of their property and also their long-term attractiveness to tenants. Our systems are available as standalone units allowing for a quick and cost-effective upgrade or alternatively as a reticulated system that empowers a whole site with at-point-of-operation outlets.
In Good Company
At eWater Systems we are extremely proud of our community of customers. They are pioneering businesses that are making a difference by reducing their chemical footprint and investing in a better alternative that is clean, cost effective and safe for their staff.
International Convention Centre
The kitchen at the International Convention Centre in Sydney is the largest commercial kitchen operation in Australia. On the back of existing installations at both the Melbourne and Brisbane convention centers, eWater Systems completed installation and commissioning of a reticulated system at the ICC early in 2018. This new setup enables dedicated cleaning and sanitising solutions throughout their operation. Our systems has now become a core part of their Food Safety Plan.
Stokehouse Restaurant
When the Iconic Stokehouse Restaurant in St.Kilda burnt down in 2014, the owners vowed to rebuild and to create a new building that would match the iconic name that would be attached to it. A core part of the redevelopment was to invest in sustainable and environmentally sound technology that would underpin the future of the restaurant and building. Our system was specified from the outset and a reticulated system is commissioned throughout the building.
Coolum Surf Club
Coolum Surf Club is a vibrant and iconic part of the Coolum community and a location that has a close relationship to the foreshore environment. An eWater Hygiene System has been the natural addition to their venue as an operationally effective means of reducing chemicals and aligning their value in practice.
Sush Sushi
One of our newest customers, Sush Sushi is one of Hobarts iconic sushi chains and has just celebrated their 15th birthday. While each site is a small operation, Sush Sushi recognized the value of adding an eWater System to their business operations to reduce cleaning costs, remove chemicals from their food production and increase their sustainable impact as a brand.