Case Study
Samson Corporation
Making Multi-Tenant Recycling Work
Industry
Commercial Property
Location
Auckland, New Zealand
73%
Landfill Reduction
3
Sites Improved
5
Green Star
The Challenge
Managing waste in multi-tenanted buildings is notoriously difficult. Tenants often lack motivation or infrastructure, leading to poor recycling rates. Samson Corporation, with a portfolio of green buildings, needed a way to align tenant behavior with their sustainable building ethos.
The Solution
Sustainability Manager Celia Wells implemented Method bins across their portfolio, treating them as a key part of the tenancy package. This was paired with bold, beautiful waste enclosures accessed by swipe card to eliminate dumping and signal commitment.
The Impact
The results were spectacular. Comparing 2018 to 2019 data, waste to landfill dropped by 44% at St Benedicts St, 33% at Gillies Ave, and an incredible 73% at Dominion Rd. The visible system created a culture of collective responsibility among tenants.
Samson Property recycling in multi-tenanted buildings
More often than not, we find that people want to do the right thing when it comes to recycling but they lack the motivation, knowledge and infrastructure to follow through. This can make the management of multi-tenanted buildings seem daunting - but the team over at Samson Corporation have it down to a fine art.
Samson Corporation have Auckland’s largest privately owned commercial property portfolio, they’ve been at the forefront of some of New Zealand’s leading sustainable builds. Such as Ironbank and Geyser, which were amongst the first Green Star rated commercial buildings in New Zealand. Not to mention that recently they became a certified carboNZero organisation.
Celia Wells was brought on board two years ago as the Sustainability Manager for Samson. Celia found that tenants were enthusiastic about moving into Green buildings, but over time their actions didn’t match up to the intended ethos of the building. Celia tells us that while ultimately what tenants do with their waste is up to them, Samson have an amazing opportunity to be a catalyst for change.
Celia and the Samson team are championing waste and recycling across their multi-tenanted portfolio, providing tenants with Method bins, ongoing sustainability education and feeding them back data on their recycling and waste habits.
For Celia, it’s evident the value she sees in a visible recycling system. She’s developed big, bright and beautiful enclosures for their waste and recycling skips at the back of their premises. Accessed only by swipe card, they eliminate neighbourhood dumping and make a visible statement about their commitment to making a difference.
Samson has invested in their recycling and waste strategy, and it’s easy to see that it’s paying off. Nothing tells the story better than numbers, and with the help of their new waste provider, Super Trash, we can see the reduction of waste to landfill at three of their key sites when comparing 2018 data with 2019:
St Benedicts St reduced by 44%
Gillies Ave reduced by 33%
Dominion Rd reduced by a whopping and wildly impressive 73%
The key to Samson’s success is a passion and commitment to making a visible difference inside and out. From building and facilities design, fitting out the spaces, and even a structured tenancy package that covers the sustainable practices in the building.
At the end of the day for Samson, it’s an investment in the future of their buildings and the environment, but it also just makes good business sense. For Celia, she gets to be “at the front of some really positive tenant relationships - and you can't put a price on that.”
“We like that Method Bins are on display inside tenancies and communicate that an office is waste responsible. We wanted to communicate a similar message about our building with our waste enclosures.”
Trusted by organisations who are serious about sustainability
“Within the first week of rolling out our 5-bin system, waste to landfill was reduced by approximately 80%”
Resources
Everything you need to design a successful recycling system. From case studies to technical specifications.
