Render of Parramatta City Council’s
stage 1 of Parramatta Square
In this context, it’s easy to see why Australia now
has an international reputation for green building
leadership. Last year, GPT Group was named
the world’s most sustainable property company
in the 2012 Dow Jones Sustainability Index – a
title Stockland, Lend Lease and Investa have also
previously held. The latest Global Real Estate
Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), published
in September 2012, surveyed companies
representing US$1,300 billion in global assets
under management. Despite Australian
companies accounting for just nine percent of
survey respondents, 35 percent are considered to
be global leaders in sustainability.
However, market leadership is not enough. The
support of government is instrumental in the
shift to green. Around Australia, governments are
recognising that Green Star is an assurance of
quality and a demonstration of fiscal responsibility.
State and local governments are increasingly
setting policies that require developers to meet
Green Star benchmarks for all new projects,
embedding Green Star into their planning codes,
and providing incentives and funding such as
Environmental Upgrade Agreements.
But more must be done. We need more
government policies and programs that
encourage better buildings, communities and
cities. The GBCA has developed a three-point
plan which will place Australia on a clear, longterm pathway to a healthier, more productive,
more resilient and more sustainable built
environment. These priorities are: providing
visionary government leadership; retrofitting and
improving existing buildings; and moving beyond
buildings to communities and cities.
Visionary government leadership
Government leadership and a commitment
to best practice helps to accelerate market
GREEN BUILDINGS
transformation and encourage industry to
continuously improve, innovate and build skills
and capacity.
Achieving Green Star ratings for all of the
buildings that governments own, occupy or
develop sets new benchmarks, drives innovation
and the shift towards better building practices.
When government ‘walks the talk’, it provides
real-world examples of efficient, cost-effective
and sustainable buildings for the community
to emulate. The state governments of Victoria,
South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania have
mandated Green Star for office buildings they
own or occupy, as well as schools and hospitals in
some cases.
The ACT Government, for instance, has an
ambitious target of all government operations
– including schools, hospitals, public transport
and emergency services – being carbon neutral
by 2020. Seven education facilities in the ACT are
either certified or registered to achieve Green
Star ratings. These schools not only incorporate
environmentally friendly features such as solar
passive design, natural ventilation, use of grey
water for toilet flushing and underground rainwater
storage tanks, but also access to fresh air and
natural light which are proven to improve learning
and decrease absenteeism. This investment in
green schools will not only improve educational
outcomes for the ACT’s students, but also help the
people of Canberra to reach this target.
At the ACT’s Harrison School, which has a 5
Star Green Star – Education Design v1 rating,
energy saving initiatives have halved the school’s
energy consumption when compared with typical
schools. Just as important, the school acts as
an interactive teaching tool, educating the next
generation of sustainable leaders through handson learning. Students engage with environmental
science from year three, and the school Principal,
Govlink Issue 2 2013
Dennis Yarrington has said, “If
we get kids to reduce, reuse,
recycle, close a door, put a
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