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GREEN BUILDING GUIDE
More than 50 large-scale community projects –
some which will one day be home to hundreds of
thousands of people – are working with the Green
Building Council of Australia to achieve Green
Star – Communities ratings.
At Renewal SA’s Bowden Development, situated
on the western edge of the Adelaide City
Parklands, each and every building delivered
on the 16.3-hectare site must achieve a 5 Star
Green Star rating – or above. Renewal SA has also
achieved a 6 Star Green Star – Communities rating
for the entire precinct.
This Green Star mandate has changed the
way developers think about sustainability. At
56 Seventh Street, for example, Green Star
provided a “method to objectively measure our
achievements,” says Tim Schaefer, Director of
Acdev, the building’s developer. “Working within
the Green Star framework also forced us to look at
the project through a sustainability lens from the
outset – and encouraged us to seek sustainable
alternatives that we may not have otherwise
considered,” Schaefer adds.
Using Green Star means that Renewal SA has
a clear framework with which to report back
to the community on its progress. The Green
Star – Communities credits and criteria set
clear benchmarks, and Renewal SA is able to
demonstrate to buyers and the neighbours of
these new developments that these benchmarks
are being met. Requiring a Green Star rating is an
essential part of what makes a good community.
It’s not enough to pay lip service to sustainability.
You also must be able to measure it.
The bottom line is simple. Data will increasingly
drive our decisions. But let’s make sure we get
value from that data by: making it relevant to the
outcomes we want to see across our cities; using
it to build the evidence base for better decisions;
and communicating benefits meaningfully in a
way that engages our communities in their future.
Jonathan Cartledge,
Head of Public Affairs
Green Building Council
of Australia
GOVLINK » ISSUE 2 2017