Future Proof is ready to bring sustainability into the design process from day one, ensuring that carbon, energy and comfort shape your architectural decisions while they still matter most. From an initial ESD brief through to regulatory approvals, our approach is iterative, evidence-based and grounded in each project’s ambitions.
Designing with carbon in mind
We begin with an ESD design brief that outlines sustainability goals aligned with your project or practice ambitions, along with a recommended pathway to compliance.
Our carbon-informed approach adopts Life Cycle Assessment principles to understand and reduce environmental impacts across a building's lifecycle.
We measure, test and provide recommendations to best manage these impacts iteratively at key design phases through two or three Carbon Snapshots (pending the project’s complexity, scale and ESD ambitions), enabling upfront embodied carbon considerations to meaningfully inform architectural decisions and material selections, at a time when they have greatest influence.
On the operational emissions side, we use thermal modelling software (Hero) as a design tool, optimizing glazing and shading early in the process and projecting performance against future climate scenarios. Daylight modelling (Radiance) assesses habitable room access and planning compliance. We also advise on solar and battery (BESS) with the ideal outcome of sizing a system capable of generating 120% estimated annual consumption.
For regulatory requirements, we advise on Green Star, and prepare Sustainability Design Assessments or Management Plans (depending on scale), WSUD compliance assessments using Blue Factor, and Green Travel Plans that reduce car dependence and establish sustainable transport as the default choice.
Accreditations & software
Greenstar
Evaluates building sustainability across design, construction, and operations using a points-based system. Covers offices, retail, education, healthcare, interior fitouts, as well asresidential developments.
NABERS
The National Australian Built Environment Rating System rates operational energy, water, and waste performance of existing commercial buildings on a 1–6 scale, encouraging ongoing sustainability improvements.
NatHERS
The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme rates residential building energy efficiency from 1–10 stars based on design and construction, predicting annual heating/cooling energy consumption.
Hero
We use Hero (Home Energy Rating & Optimisation) as our NatHERS accredited building energy modelling software
tool of choice.