As the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) reaches its tenth anniversary, chief executive Romilly Madew explains how the organisation?s rating tools have transformed the building industry and reveals where those Green Stars are heading next.
Has the GBCA?s Green Star rating system ? which evaluates the environmental design and construction of buildings ? undergone any changes or updates in the past year?
Last year, we launched the Green Star Revolution project. This seven-point plan aims to make Green Star simpler, faster, more consistent and more cost-effective, and deliver a new generation of Green Star tools.
We listened carefully to members? feedback and undertook a comprehensive review, and have implemented dozens of new processes to ensure Green Star remains Australia?s leading rating tool for buildings and communities.
While some projects are revolutionary, such as the development of rating tools for communities and existing buildings ? which I will expand on in later questions ? others are small improvements and recalibrations which are already helping the many teams working on Green Star projects.
We?re simplifying credits, reducing documentation requirements, creating standard templates and providing examples of successful submissions to guide project teams through the certification process. We?re also working on a comprehensive online system that will enable us to certify a greater range of building types faster and more efficiently.
Are there any new rating tools or green building practices that have emerged recently?
In June, we launched Green Star ? Communities, which is one of the world?s first rating tools designed to encourage higher levels of sustainability across a broad range of issues.
The rating tool is the result of nearly three years of work. We engaged with 135 experts across the industry, government and academia to develop the rating tool, which has 38 credits across the categories of: Design; Governance; Liveability; Economic Prosperity; Environment and Innovation.
In the past, nationally consistent best-practice-built environment outcomes have been difficult to achieve when policies and regulations are driven at a state or local government level. However, we believe the Green Star ? Communities rating tool will become a voluntary national standard, as every state and territory government land organisation has sponsored the development of the rating tool.
More information, and the PILOT rating tool, can be seen at: www.gbca.org.au/communities
What does the term ?greening? represent when applied to an existing building and how is it done?
While Green Star has traditionally been about driving higher standards of sustainability for the design and construction of buildings, there have been few equivalent benchmarks available for the operational performance of these buildings. So, how do owners and operators confirm that their Green Star buildings actually realise their design and construction potential?
The Green Building Council of Australia is currently developing the Green Star ? Performance rating tool to address this.
Green Star ? Performance will provide building owners with a pathway for upgrade programs. Not every organisation has the money to take a building straight to 6 Star Green Star benchmarks. Green Star ? Performance will help building owners and managers to make decisions that support long-term investment in greener buildings, as well as incremental improvements. And Green Star ? Performance will ensure that ?greening? is a term applied not only to operational energy efficiency but also to efficiency, health and productivity benefits around every building; water, indoor environment quality, waste, materials, ecology, emissions and many other issues.
For more information:
www.gbca.org.au/performance
I understand that you are now looking ?beyond buildings? ? at the sustainability of entire precincts at once, rather than taking a building-by-building approach. What does this shift signify and why it is happening?
The United Nations forecasts that today?s urban population of 3.2 billion will rise to nearly 5 billion by 2030. By then, three out of five people will live in cities. Australia is already one of the world?s most urbanised nations, with just over three-quarters of the population living in 18 major cities of 100,000 people or more. Australia?s major cities also account for four-fifths of the nation?s economic activity, so their productivity is pivotal to Australia?s economic future.
We also know our cities are struggling. Productivity growth has slowed and then declined since 1998. Transport congestion is increasing; the avoidable cost of congestion in capital cities is equivalent to one per cent of GDP and is forecast to more than double, to reach $20 billion a year by 2020. And housing affordability in Australia has declined against most other OECD [Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development]countries in the last decade. In real terms, house prices have more than doubled since 1995. Of course, our growing cities have implications for the use of water, land, energy and other resources, the generation of waste and climate change.
All these factors have created a perfect storm to get cities on the national agenda. The Australian government has released a national urban policy and is working on a range of programs with the Major Cities Unit. At the same time, industry has recognised that while the building-by-building approach has been very effective, we must broaden our focus if we are to truly transform the built environment. This has lead to the development of the GBCA?s ?Green Star ? Communities? rating tool.
How can a community be made green and sustainable, and how does this approach differ to working with buildings?
By applying the Green Star ? Communities benchmarks! The primary difference between Green Star ? Communities and rating tools for buildings is that Green Star ? Communities assesses not only environmental issues, but also sustainability issues such as liveability, governance and economic prosperity.
For instance, in the Liveability category, projects are rewarded for good access to amenities, affordable housing and implementing strategies to reduce crime. Healthy communities are also encouraged with credits rewarding parks and playgrounds, community food gardens, and provision of cycling and walking amenities.
In the Economic Prosperity category, proximity to employment and education opportunities and access to high-speed internet are all rewarded. Strategies for improving affordability, developing local skills and enhancing investment in community infrastructure are also encouraged.
Where do you think the green building movement is heading next?
The conversation has certainly shifted from how we green our buildings to how we green entire communities and cities. The penny has finally dropped: buildings are part of larger systems. In the future we will no longer view our buildings in isolation, but as interconnected pieces of a larger community. The GBCA?s Green Star ? Communities project is helping to drive this shift in thinking.
Also, existing buildings are becoming an enormous focus. In the US, the fastest growing rating tool is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings program. Closer to home, policies such as the Australian government?s Commercial Building Disclosure scheme ? or ?mandatory disclosure? ? are already encouraging building owners to upgrade their existing stock. The Australian Financial Review has said:
?the retrofitting of older buildings is no longer an option for owners but a commercial imperative.? We expect the Green Star ? Performance rating tool to revolutionise the industry.
Have you perceived any change in builders? and homeowners? views on sustainability since your work began, and do you see this progressing further in years to come?
Absolutely. The market leaders have driven a complete transformation of the industry. Last year, the managing director of Australia?s largest privately owned construction company, Daniel Grollo of Grocon, told the Australian Financial Review that ?it is a liability to have too few Green Stars?. In the most influential segments of the property and construction industry, Green Star is now considered ?business as usual?.
In terms of homeowners, the best way to sum up the changes is to consider a trip to a hardware store. Five years ago, shower heads used 22 litres of water per minute ? today it is almost impossible to find one that uses more than 9 litres per minute. Light bulbs were incandescent and there were some fluorescents. Today there are LED lights, as well as a huge variety of compact fluorescents. In the paints section today you can ask for low-VOC paint and the staff not only know where to find it on the shelves, they know what it means and the benefits of using it. It is likely to cost no more than the alternatives and is available in a range of brands and types. Green Star has driven product manufacturers to develop sustainable products ? so even if homeowners and builders don?t always consider environmental issues when they make purchases, these attributes are now part of the product regardless.
On your tenth anniversary, which GBCA achievements are you particularly proud of?
When I look out from the windows of our Green Star-certified fitout at our headquarters in the centre of Sydney, there are now dozens of Green Star rated buildings as far as the eye can see. We are transforming the footprints of Australia?s cities. It won?t be long before it?s hard to differentiate the Green Star buildings because they?ll all be green ? and that?s when I?ll know we?re achieving our mission.
Do you have any final message you?d like to share?
We?ve come a long way in just ten years, but none of this would have been possible without the inspiration ? and the perspiration ? from the leaders around Australia?s property and construction industry. We are part of the global network that is the World Green Building Council and we are constantly reminded that Australian capabilities and projects are seen as world-leading; it is an inspiring message and one which we will continue to reinforce and promote.
www.gbca.org.au
Source: http://www.australianbusinessjournal.com.au/gbca-leading-the-green-revolution/
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