As the number of green buildings in Australia continues to grow, the Australian building and construction industry is this week joining more than 90 countries around the world in celebrating World Green Building Week.
Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) Chief Executive Romilly Madew says the event, which will involve green building councils in more than 92 countries representing more than 30,000 organisations, highlights the role of sustainable design and construction practices in reducing carbon emissions, boosting productivity, health and learning, and improving lives.
Madew says Australia can be proud of its achievements over the past decade, with a large number of firms gaining recognition abroad for their expertise in sustainability and our nation ‘leading the way’ in terms of green building products and innovations.
“We have eight million square metres of Green Star-certified space around Australia, we’ve trained 40,000 people in the property and construction industry on sustainable building practices and our GBC is the one of the world’s largest and most influential” Madew says.
“In ten years, we have transformed some segments of the property and construction market – such as commercial offices – and we are making inroads into other markets, with sustainable schools, hospitals, shopping centres, industrial facilities and apartments a reality across Australia.
“World Green Building Week reminds us that sustainable building is not a fad or a fashion – it’s the future, and Australia is at the forefront of this global movement”.
Events as part of the week include:
- A series of ‘Sustainable Sydney’ walking tours in conjunction with the Better Buildings Partnership, where Madew says participants will see for themselves how the Green Star rating system has ‘transformed the city’s footprint’ and how Sydney’s infrastructure is ‘getting a green makeover’
- A Twitter chat session, to be held on Tuesday morning, hosted by Romilly Madew and her counterpart at the US Green Building Council, Rick Fedrizzi, whereby participants can post questions or comments about why green buildings make great communities
- A range of events, including site tours of Green-Star rated buildings, photo competitions, seminars and product launches, being held by a number of GBCA member companies.
Recent examples of evidence of Australia’s progress in green building and design includes our first Net-Zero Emissions Home, our first Green Star rated McDonald’s store and the development of a Green Star rating for emergency service buildings.
