St John’s Youth Services’ newest project, the Youth Hub + Arts Café, is a training café and service hub for young people. The meeting place will provide support and resources to ensure young South Australians have the support and resources they need to overcome barriers and achieve their ambitions. The design phase of this project has been informed by a focus on environmental sustainability, and making the best possible use of South Australia’s innovative culture, including:

• Offsetting the approximately 313 tonnes of CO₂ that it is estimated the Café will emit annually via funding Trees for Life to propagate and distribute 1,566 trees to landholders across Australia.
• Making full use in the café kitchen of the latest technology to reduce emissions, such as auto gas cut off on stoves, five-star rated equipment, and the use of energy saving lights and computer screens.
• Reducing vehicle usage via onsite bicycles for outreach staff to travel across the City.
• Providing young participants with information about public transport and having bikes available to borrow.
• Installing solar panels.

• Minimising the level of waste going to landfill by using recycling and green waste bins, sourcing local and Indigenous foods, growing herbs with compost produced onsite from green waste, using biodegradable containers and working with Foodbank to source food and distribute excess product.

• Saving water and minimising water pollution by upgrading the building with water efficient taps and showers, dual flush toilet facilities and grease traps as per local regulation.