The building blocks towards a more sustainable future

Launched in 2002, the Green Building Council of Australia is a national, not-for-profit organisation, which says it is committed to developing a more sustainable property industry in Australia through the adoption of green building practices. The council, headed up by some of the property sector's most respected identities, has the support of both the industry and government and has recently announced that it has over 600 members.

In a recent interview with Sustainability Matters, Romilly Madew, chief executive of the GBCA, discussed the role of the council in relation to sustainability within the building sector and the tools the council uses, such as the Green Star rating system, in order to achieve their objectives.

SM: Are Australian buildings getting ‘greener’?

GBCA: Prior to 2003, the majority of buildings were being designed and constructed with little to no recognition of their impact on the environment. A small percentage were looking into energy consumption but little thought was being given to water efficiency, indoor environment quality, transport and material selection. Since the introduction of Green Star, there has certainly been an increase in the number of commercial office projects taking into consideration all aspects of how buildings impact upon the environment and how they have become the next generation of buildings.

The way this can be measured is in the number of projects that are using the Green Star tools. Currently, there are over 510 projects registered with a further 53 having already achieved a 4, 5 or 6 Star Green Star rating. The Green Star rating tools have been downloaded from the Green Building Council of Australia website around 40,000 times in only six months.

These Green Star certified projects have already had a huge impact on the environment, with many reporting, on average, a reduction of 85% in energy use compared to conventional office buildings, a reduction of over 60% of water use, diverted up to 69% of waste away from landfill and a reduction in emissions equivalent to removing 3250 cars permanently off the road.

The ‘green’ initiatives and technologies that are being incorporated into these buildings are constantly evolving and buildings are now starting to become producers of energy and water rather than consumers. For example, in Sydney, a 6 Star Green Star certified building has included a blackwater recycling system that will produce 45,000 litres of greywater per day, which will not only service the building but provide all the water to two nearby parks — saving 32.7 million litres of drinking water per year.

SM: How difficult has it been since the organisation was formed in 2003 to get government and developers on board with regards to sustainable building practice?

GBCA: Since its inception, the Green Building Council of Australia has received a great deal of support from government departments and developers. As early as 2005, the Victorian and South Australian state governments mandated a minimum Green Star rating for its own office accommodation that it owns or occupies. This trend is now being followed in other states.

There are currently 41 government members supporting the Green Building Council of Australia in its mission, including City of Melbourne, City of Perth, City of Sydney, Brisbane City Council, Adelaide City Council, Sustainability Victoria, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, Sydney Olympic Park Authority, VicUrban, and a number of other government departments.

Developers, including Lend Lease and Stockland, have also been showing their support by signing the Green Star Business Partnership, which commits to achieving a Green Star rating for new, refurbished and existing buildings across their portfolio.

Local government and developers have also been key supporters of the Green Building Council’s development of a number of Green Star tools including Green Star — Office Design and As Built, Shopping Centre Design, Healthcare, Education and Multi-Unit Residential.

A number of government members and developers are represented on the Green Building Council of Australia’s Board of Directors, such as Sustainability Victoria, Lend Lease, Leighton Holdings and Mirvac.

SM: What role does the GBCA play in ensuring that buildings comply with regulations/standards?

GBCA: The Green Star certification process ensures that projects meet the credits for Green Star through independent third-party assessments.

The Green Building Council of Australia also incorporates building code standards to make sure that green buildings still comply with regulations. In version 3 of the Green Star — Office Design and Office As Built tools, for example, new credits have been incorporated to encourage smarter design and adaptability to changing building codes, such as design for disassembly.

The Green Building Council of Australia also works with other organisations to green the Australian Building Code.

SM: How will the new Green Star rating tool for multi-unit residential buildings work?

GBCA: The Green Star – Multi Unit Residential tool will assess the environmental attributes of new and refurbished multi-unit residential facilities against the standard eight categories of Green Star.

Expanding on the current Green Star tools available for different sectors such as commercial office, retail, healthcare and education, the Green Star — Multi Unit Residential tool will include a number of credits unique to the residential sector.

Projects will be given credit for initiatives such as smart-metering which will enable the residents to monitor their consumption of electricity, gas, CO₂ emissions, and water; trip reduction where the building is integrated with, and/or located adjacent to, a number of local transport amenities with safe and accessible connections for pedestrians and cyclists to reduce the need for private car trips; and communal garden facilities to promote the requirement of enjoyable outdoor space which will reduce the need to travel from home for recreation and socialising.

Also unique to this tool is the customised energy calculator created by the Green Building Council of Australia. It assesses the predicted greenhouse gas emissions during operation for all the multi-unit residential facilities — independent of size or location.

SM: How will this credit system work?

GBCA: Green Star rating tools assess a project’s environmental performance against nine environmental impact categories that are a direct consequence of a project’s site selection brief, design, construction and maintenance. Points are awarded for actions that demonstrate that a project has met the overall objectives of Green Star and the specific aims of the relevant rating tool.

Once all claimed credits in each category are assessed, a percentage score is calculated and Green Star environmental weighting factors are then applied. Green Star environmental weighting factors vary across states/territories to reflect diverse environmental concerns across Australia.

To encourage the development and spread of innovative technologies, designs and processes that could improve a building's environmental performance, an ‘innovation’ category is included in each Green Star rating tool.

The following Green Star certified ratings are available for all projects:

• 4 Star Green Star Certified Rating that recognises 'Best Practice'
• 5 Star Green Star Certified Rating that recognises 'Australian Excellence'
• 6 Star Green Star Certified Rating that recognises 'World Leader'

A design, project or building cannot publicly claim a Green Star rating unless the Green Building Council of Australia has certified the rating. The Green Building Council will commission one or more third-party certified assessors to validate the project’s self-rating and recommend a Green Star Certified Rating.

SM: Will this be regulated?

GBCA: Green Star tools are voluntary and are not intended to be incorporated into regulation. Instead, governments should work with industry and put forward a range of incentives to encourage owners and developers to continue to build green.

Possible incentives include:

• A sliding scale of rate reductions offered for buildings that achieve a Green Star certified rating (or equivalent);
• Faster development application approval timelines;
• Development Application Lodgement Fees could be waived for buildings achieving a Green Star rating;
• Land Tax abatement for Green Star certified buildings; and
• Stamp Duty waivers.