What we do
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Vim Sustainability Consulting is a practical, forward-thinking business offering innovative, sustainable building design, construction and operational solutions for our clients.
Our strength lies in understanding how utilising integrated sustainable practices with project management improves your outcome. Our services add value irrespective of whether your project is a multi-storey office or apartments, a hotel, school, warehouse or shopping centre development.
We provide consultations for:
New ‘Greenfield’ housing development sites and estatesConcept designsRefurbishment of existing buildingsMulti storey structuresHotels, motels and clubsManufacturing plants and factories
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Aged care centres and hospitalsSchools and collegesShopping centresApartmentsRetreat and recreation facilitiesAll business operationsCost analysis |
Through our specialist consulting team, we offer you the ability to review your current building, design concepts and/or existing plans. We can address your company’s operational policies, your management philosophy and your builder’s construction techniques to ensure that sustainable outcomes are achieved.
Our approach
At Vim Sustainability Consulting we believe we are leading the way in practical sustainability management and the built environment throughout Australia, Asia and the Pacific region. We are a team of passionate and committed practitioners who wholeheartedly believe in the value and the benefits of what we do.
We have been practicing, promoting and implementing environmental sustainability into building design, construction and operations for many years.
We are committed to a cost effective sustainable future for all. Sustainability is of no benefit if the costs to implement it are more than the actual benefits it achieves.
We are accredited ‘Green Star’ professionals, licensed builders, qualified project managers, experienced design managers, ‘AccuRateTM’ and DesignBuilderTM thermal building assessors.
We are also accredited Nabers Energy Assessors and have a skilled set of specialist engineers on our staff. We are able to analyse and diagnose your design or your building or your operational process and provide a range of practical sustainable solutions.
Our motivation is to assist and guide you in using sustainable practices in your project towards a better outcome. We want our business to be a human interaction that inspires our clients to share their talents with the community for the benefit of the community.
About Us
John Brodie
Founder
John Brodie, the founder and principal of VIM Sustainability Consulting, has been a construction project manager, design manager and builder for over thirty years.
In that time he has been a passionate proponent of sustainability and has researched, advised and consulted on practical sustainability for a wide range of residential and commercial design and construction projects.
In 2003, John was urged by colleagues and friends to focus all his sustainability, construction and design expertise into a business in order to benefit everyone with his knowledge. That was the birth of Vim Sustainability Consulting.
John’s qualifications and expertise include:
- Licenced builder.
- Graduated in Project Management at UTS, Sydney in 2004.
- Full member of the Australian Institute of Project Managers (M.A.I.P.M)
- Member of the Association of Building Sustainability Assessors (ABSA), and the Australian Green Development Forum (AGDF).
- Accredited ‘Green Star’ professional and Thermal Building Assessor in ‘AccuRateTM’ software.
- Accredited by Institute of Engineers in 'DesignBuilderTM' BCA Protocol approved Thermal Modelling software
- Compliance assessor under the new Section ‘J’ BCA requirements for energy efficiency.
- Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
- Currently completing a Masters in Sustainable Design Science at Sydney University
Achievements include:
- Articles on sustainability for assorted journals including the National Health Journal; The Chronicle for the Aged Care Association Australia; AIPM National Magazine, FM and INsite, a Health and Education nationwide magazine.
- In 2006, Design manager for the winner of Master Builders ‘Merit’ award for Energy Efficiency against all categories in NSW for a sustainable Aged Care project.
- In 2006, one of two judges for the ACAA Aged Care ‘Excellence in Building’ awards.
- In 2007and 2008, guest lecturer on ‘Sustainability and the Built Environment’ at the University of Technology (UTS) in Sydney.
- Construction and sustainability consulting services to the ‘KURU’ Aboriginal Building Corporation in Bourke and the Runbalara indigenous community in Shepparton.
- Presentations on sustainability at assorted Aged Care conferences around Australia including the ACAA National Congress in Perth in November, 2006, the ACCV (Victoria) Retirement Villages annual conference in December, 2006, and the ACCV State Conference in March, 2007.
- Presenter on sustainability at the ITAC Conference in Melbourne in July, 2007, Aged Care Services (ACSA) National conference in Melbourne in September, 2007 and presenter on sustainability at the Australian Institute of Project Managers (A.I.P.M) National Conference in Hobart in October, 2007.
- Presenter at over 30 conferences around Australia in 2008 including : ACCV Tri Sate Conference;Baptist Care National Conference;AIPM National Conference; Presenter and Chairman inaugural Green Hospitals Conference; ACSA National Conference. Facility Management National Conference
- Clean Energy Council Carbon Trading Conference
- RVA NZ National Conference; RVA Australia National Conference; Greentech National Conference
- Founder and President of the Australian Association of Sustainable Healthcare (AASH)
- Presenter on sustainability on Radio 6PR (Perth) regular Saturday Talkback
John is passionately committed to expanding the awareness of the need for sustainability and the benefits that will bring to all industries and building genres.
Peter Lethbridge
Services and Commissioning Engineer
Peter is a services engineer who has had over 40 years working in the services design and installation areas across all areas of the built environment and infrastructure arenas. He has been the Services Manager Engineer for a range of construction companies such as Bovis Lend Lease, John Holland and Multiplex. His traditional engineering background brings a wealth of all round service design, installation and commissioning knowledge to every Vim Sustainability project.
His understanding of energy efficiency and of gaining multiple benefits from every item wherever possible has enabled him to save thousands of dollars on many projects.
Peter has a vast range of experience in commissioning, energy auditing and analysis of buildings. He is fully conversant with the CIBSE commissioning codes which are a key contributor to achieving a carbon neutral result in the design and operation of buildings. His range of expertise is in understanding what makes buildings and engineering designs ‘tick’.
Suminto Loe
Mechanical Engineer
Covering a diverse background, Suminto has worked in areas including manufacturing, project management, quality management and ESD. Focusing on ESD, he has gained experience in passive design (natural ventilation, natural lighting design, facade analysis and thermal comfort), energy assessment schemes, computational fluid dynamics and renewable energy technologies. His specialist knowledge extends to the integration of such techniques in the design process.
Suminto is highly skilled in a range of building energy and thermal analysis as well as diagnostic software such as Design Builder, Energy Plus, Tas and Camel. In addition he has a thorough understanding of renewable energy and renewable energy software design tools.He is also competent in Autocad.
Suminto has won awards for his studies including the Deans award for Engineering twice at UTS.
Suminto is passionate about seeing engineering principles being applied across a broad range of applications which will improve long term performance and sustainability in the built environment.
Suminto’s qualifications and expertise include:
- Graduated in Mechanical Engineering (Honours) and Electronic Business at UTS, Sydney in 2004
- Diploma in Engineering Practice, UTS
- Accredited ABSA Building Thermal Assessor in BERS Pro Software
- Able to undertake building energy performance as per NABERS Energy protocol
- Currently completing Master of Mechanical Engineering at University of New South Wales
Dr. Phuoc Huynh
Senior Consultant in Natural Ventilation Design and Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Phuoc Huynh is a senior lecturer in fluid mechanics, turbomachines, informatics and other mechanical engineering subjects at UTS. He works as part of the Vim Sustainability team as our senior consultant in Natural ventilation design and Mechanical Engineering.
He has worked at assorted Universities lecturing in a range of engineering disciplines and he has worked at the CSIRO Atmospheric Research Centre as a research fellow.
Phuoc brings an extraordinary range of skills and expertise and technical ability to our team in the area of ventilation design, mechanical engineering and detailed project analysis.
Dr. Phuoc’s qualifications and expertise include:
- Graduated in Mechanical Engineering (Honours) at University of Sydney in 1976
- Master of Engineering Science in Mechanical Engineering (University of Sydney in 1979)
- Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (University of Sydney in 1982)
Dr. Phuoc’s professional memberships are listed below:
- Member - Institution of Engineers, Australia (IE Aust), 1985-1992.
- Member - American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), from 1988.
- Member - International Association of Computational Mechanics (IACM), 1983-1989.
- Member - Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME), 1990-1991.
- Member - Society of Rheology, USA, 1979-1989, then again from 1995.
Helanath Dissanayake
Financial Manager; Cost/Benefit Specialist
Helanath Dissanayake has recently been appointed as the Financial Director for Vim Sustainability. He is an experienced Finance Manager, with over ten years experience in financial management, control and reporting across international development projects and internal operations of consultancy firms servicing clients including AusAID, DFID, World Bank, ADB, EU and UN. In Australia, Helanath has over 13 years experience as a hands-on Finance Manager with proven business acumen and a strongly demonstrated capacity to deliver sustainable growth and profitability. He has had internal stewardship of company obligations and reporting to ISO9001 standards, all compliance with internal and external audits, and is both knowledgeable and confident in reviewing and improving work processes to enhance efficiency.
His formal qualifications include an MBA and professional membership of CPA Australia. His ability to understand cost/benefit analysis and ensure correct forecasting and budgeting through the project accounts are very relevant to any development.
His presence brings a strong sense of financial auditing, cost versus benefit diagnostics and overall financial management to all of our projects.
Stephanie Fulton
Graduate Engineer
Stephanie is a Mechanical Engineering Graduate from Sydney University. She is an expert in grants funding and is fully conversant with the current available grants for sustainability initiatives and other funding opportunities. She undertakes a range of compliance projects within the office and is well versed in Section ‘J’ energy efficiency protocols and assessments.Her works complement all others in the office and she is a committed and passionate sustainability advocate.
Marielise van der Merwe
Architect
Marielise is an architect with nine years experience in different architectural fields.
She has managed her own practice for the past seven years and has specific interest in the sustainability aspect of all design projects.
Marielise’s achievements include Retail- Hospitality Design, Conservation and Restoration, Commercial and Residential Design.
From concept through to completion her work speaks of aesthetical excellence and understanding and implementation of Environmental Sustainable Design principles.
Marielise graduated in Architecture at the University of Pretoria, South Africa in 1999.
She’s a member of the Australian Institute of Architects.
VIM, what does our name mean?
Vim is a noun that means energy. As a word it’s short and concise, and doesn't take a lot of energy to pronounce or explain. It therefore epitomises sustainability.
Many would remember the old saying ‘vim and vigour’ which means energised, exciting, enduring, committed and colourful.
Ironically Vim was an old cleaning agent, found in the UK and in Australia as well as in the Dr Suess Books!
Vim cleans and provides energy which sums up our business -we help to clean the environment in an energy efficient way.
These attributes all describe our team and our business philosophy.
The Sustainability Institute
In 2004, John Brodie and some of his associates conceived and established the ‘Sustainability Institute’, a research and practice based ‘Think Tank’ designed to assist individuals, communities, government and private enterprise understand and implement sustainability. Situated on 150 hectares of mountain forest, the Institute also provides the framework for underpinning the innovative and creative work Vim Consulting is renowned for.
A comprehensive internet site for the Sustainability Institute will be launched shortly (www.sustainabilityinstitute.com.au).
