SOCs and Blocks

What is SOCs & Blocks?

SOCs & Blocks (short for Sustainable Owners Corporations and Apartment Blocks) is a program to encourage the uptake of sustainable technology and practices in the operation of apartment buildings in the City of Port Phillip.

Through this program, Council works with owner's corporations (formerly called body corporates) to increase the energy and water efficiency of common areas and common services, as well as improving the level of diversion of waste from landfill and the uptake of sustainable transport through improvement of facilities improvement and education. The central plank of the program involves council engaging a consultant to undertake a sustainability assessment of the participating buildings.

The ultimate aim is to reduce the environmental footprint of participating apartment blocks. Council's Toward Zero Sustainable Environment Strategy indicates that council will work with the community to reduce energy and water consumption, and this program works toward the goals in that strategy.

Do you want to get your apartment block involved in SOCs & Blocks?

NOW RECRUITING BLOCKS FOR ROUND 3!

The third round of SOCs and Blocks is now OPEN so please register your interest by 31 JANUARY 2012.  This program is FREE to join and the sustainability assessment of your block is also FREE.

The application process is generally straightforward: the owner's corporation committee must agree to participate in the program and send a letter to the Mayor stating their commitment to reducing the environmental impact of their block through participation in the SOCs and Blocks program - don't worry, you will be provided with a template of this letter.  If you think that your block would be a suitable candidate then please contact the SOCs and Blocks program manager for more details on how to apply (details at bottom of page).

Find out more about how you can get involved in the SOCs & Blocks program.

Who is currently participating in the program?

At the moment there are 29 apartment blocks across the municipality who have participated in the SOCs & Blocks program. They are located in Melbourne (St Kilda Rd/Queens Rd district), Port Melbourne and St Kilda, and cover a representative spectrum of apartment building types, sizes and ages.

Read about the experiences of people who have participated in the program.

Click on this link to find out what you can do to make your apartment more sustainable.

Enquiries

All program enquiries can be directed to the SOCs & Blocks program manager Verity McLucas on 9209 6161 or via email: vmclucas@portphillip.vic.gov.au