Green Building

Green Building Council of Australia Launched in 2002, the Green Building Council of Australia is a national, not-for-profit organisation that is uniquely supported by both industry and governments across the country. The organisation is funded by membership income and sponsorship only.

Mission

The Green Building Council's mission is to develop a sustainable property industry for Australia and drive the adoption of green building practices through market-based solutions.

Key Objectives

To drive the transition of the Australian property industry towards:

• sustainability by promoting green building programs, technologies, design practices and operations;
• integration of green building initiatives into mainstream design, construction and operation of buildings.

Green Building

A green building incorporates design, construction and operational practices that significantly reduce or eliminate its negative impact on the environment and its occupants. Building green is an opportunity to use resources efficiently while creating healthier environments for people to live and work in.

Green Star

In order to achieve the key objectives, the GBCA launched the Green Star environmental rating system for buildings in 2003. Green Star rating tools help the property industry to reduce the environmental impact of buildings, improve occupant health and productivity and achieve real cost savings, while showcasing innovation in sustainable building practices.

There are a number of Green Star rating tools available for a variety of sectors, inlcuding commerical offices, shopping centres, healthcare facilities, and schools and universities.

The Australian Building Greenhouse Rating

The Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) Scheme is a 'world first initiative' to help building owners and tenants across Australia benchmark their greenhouse performance.
Benefits of ABGR:

• Provides market recognition and a competitive advantage for low greenhouse emitters and energy efficient buildings;
• Encourages best practice in the design, operation and maintenance of commercial buildings to minimise greenhouse emissions
• Administered nationally by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) and locally by leading state greenhouse agencies, the ABGR scheme rates buildings from one to five stars with five stars representing exceptional greenhouse performance. Current market best practice in Australia is three stars.
  

Key features of ABGR

• It’s voluntary – a rating can be initiated by a building owner, manager or tenant;
• It rates a building according to its actual performance, using 12 months’ energy data;
• It can be used for the base building (central services), whole building or individual tenancies;
• It allows developers to “badge” the greenhouse performance of their new office development from the outset on the proviso that DECC will rate its actual operational performance and advise the tenants; 
• It’s available now for all Australian office buildings.