It’s been a huge year for us at the Sustainable Australia Fund. As it draws to a close we wanted to share a quick recap of all that’s happened, say thanks and share some positivity as head off into the summer break.
Our office will be closed from Friday December 20 until Monday January 6. We look forward to getting stuck into 2020 with you all to continue helping Australian businesses unlock savings and sustainability.
But until then, let’s recap 2019…
Thanks for all your support.
Scott Bocskay
CEO, Sustainable Australia Fund
Earlier this year we evolved from the Sustainable Melbourne Fund into the Sustainable Australia Fund. In an Australian rite of passage, we moved out of the house we grew up in at the City of Melbourne and into our own place around the corner on Collins Street. As a newly national company, we announced a $230m partnership with Bank Australia for funding environmental upgrades.
We’re lucky that we get to work with Australian businesses who are committed to projects that save them huge operating costs while also becoming more sustainable. Businesses like D’Orsogna, who entered into the largest solar EUA for their 1.05 megawatt system, which was cashflow positive from day one.
With a new national focus, we’ve been thrilled (and a little busy) with an increase in enquiries of more than 500% since our expansion. Every day our dedicated business development team work with businesses to help make their projects come to life.
Our finance attracted the interest of ABC News with this article: Cheap green loans from Sustainable Australia Fund are changing the way businesses see solar.
James and Christine welcomed Huzi Bagasrawala to the Melbourne team, Danny Williams to the brand new Sydney office, and Lawrence Graham who works across the Riverina region in NSW and northern Victoria.
In addition, we welcomed Kathy Johnson & Jabin Henderson, and Darren O’Hanlon & Danny Kent as origination partners for our Capital Fund in Victoria and New South Wales respectively.
We launched three new products, all using the environmental upgrade finance mechanism, designed to specifically meet the needs of different businesses and different projects.
Capital Fund is a capital solution for renovation and repositioning projects, forming part of the capital stack.
Solar Fund is a dedicated solar & battery funding solution with unique terms to make projects cashflow positive.
Upgrade Fund is a flexible product for a range of energy efficiency and building upgrades, that can help bring ambitious and innovative projects to life.
The launch of these products was covered in this article in the Fifth Estate.
Our brand new website has loads of new tools, including a downloadable info pack for customers; our 1 min explainer video; an address lookup function that confirms if our finance is available in your council area; a dedicated page for our Endorsed Partners; and success stories of the projects we’ve worked on together.
For our installation partners, we also built our new online Quote Tool.
Our Better Building Finance team, who are dedicated to bringing new councils onboard and administering their loan programs, had a big year also, welcoming 9 new councils and 6 who recommitted to offering better building finance in their municipalities. Better Building Finance now work with 35 councils in Victoria.
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NEW COUNCILS
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RECOMMITTED COUNCILS
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In partnership with ARENA, we will work to expand the number of councils offering environmental and building upgrade finance across Victoria, NSW and SA, initially targeting 23 new councils.
We were nominated for a Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Award, and were very proud to win the Climate Alliance Small Company Leadership Award and the National Economic Development Award for Excellence (Partnerships) for the work Better Building Finance has done with its 35 council partners.
To learn more about what Better Building Finance does for councils, watch this video.
We’re excited about where we’ve come through and what the future holds. Sustainable Australia Fund is a for-purpose company – everything we do is to advance our company mission to help Australian businesses save money and make the world a better place.
Have a wonderful holiday season and we will see you in 2020.
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The hospitality industry increasingly faces a pivotal challenge: how do hospitality businesses become more sustainable while ensuring profitability? The hospitality sector, encompassing hotels, restau..
Our new Fast Track Green loan will deliver more speed, greater flexibility, and extra choices for our customers.
This includes:
+ Accelerated approval: With our Fast Track Green Loan, eligible businesses can secure up to $200,000 without the need to submit financials for faster approvals.
+ Fixed and Variable Rate Interest Options: All our eligible businesses can now choose an SAF green loan, including out Fast Track Green Loan with either a fixed or variable interest rate, providing the flexibility in funding you deserve.
Find out more and apply today!
