Australia’s first Green Star - Communities PILOT project registered

Australia now has its first registered Green Star - Communities PILOT project. The ‘loop’ precinct in Canberra has been registered for a Green Star - Communities PILOT rating under the Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA’s) PILOT rating tool for sustainable communities.

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, officially launched the Green Star - Communities PILOT rating tool at the BEMP (Built Environment Meets Parliament) summit in Canberra yesterday.

“This great new tool goes to the heart of what we are seeking to achieve with our National Urban Policy - and that is to make our cities more productive, sustainable and liveable,” said Albanese.

“The Green Building Council of Australia is to be commended for developing this tool, which will be of vast help to governments, developers and the public who want the best information to guide their decisions about sustainability.”

The loop precinct is a 40,000 m² development at the Belconnen Fresh Food Markets in Canberra. Rock Development Group’s plan for the precinct includes Green Star-rated buildings, electric vehicle recharge points, a residential carpooling scheme, precinct-wide energy generation, water capture and waste management, and a focus on healthy, active living.

“We are proud to have the first registered Green Star - Communities PILOT project. Loop will provide opportunities for everyone to participate in an active, enjoyable and community-oriented lifestyle and will set new benchmarks for world’s best practice for sustainable community living and property development,” said Maria Efkarpidis from Rock Development Group.

“We are thrilled to be working with Rock Development Group on what will be one of Australia’s greenest communities. Rock Development Group has supported our vision for Green Star - Communities from the earliest stages, and it is appropriate that we will now work together to test the tool’s benchmarks,” said Robin Mellon, the GBCA’s Executive Director of Advocacy and Business Services.

The GBCA will now work with Rock Development Group to benchmark loop against 38 credits in the Green Star - Communities categories of Liveability; Economic Prosperity; Environment; Design; Governance; and Innovation.

“Green Star - Communities will provide industry, governments and consumers with best practice benchmarks for communities that meet a range of environmental, economic and social priorities. We congratulate Rock Development Group for being the first registered PILOT project and hope to see many more development projects embrace Green Star - Communities in the near future,” Mellon said.