A communication breakdown has created significant hindrances to green building promotion in Australia.
With the greenwashing that is present across the country, and with so much uncertainty surrounding the soon-to-be-implemented carbon tax, the green building sector is now tasked with educating and communicating with the public in order to maximise the acceptance of green building implementation.
In facing this challenge, Australian Living has developed the Sustainable Home Community Education Taskforce which, as the name would suggest, aims to educate the public about green initiatives. The hope is that through education, the task force will put an end to the fear and confusion many feel in regard to green developments.
Australian Living marketing manager Anthony Lieberman says it is for this reason that green opportunities are being overlooked. He adds that through industry support, green building success can be achieved in the wider community.
“There is so much noise in the current debate; many people are understandably confused about their environmental choices,” says Lieberman. “Providing clarity is a formidable task that requires collaboration. We have pulled together a team of passionate people that bring a variety of expertise to the table. The industry as a whole will be more successful if individual players work together to help the community.”
In addition to clarifying public confusion and concern, the task force aims to increase industry transparency, develop collaborative green-oriented strategies and promote green building and living on a simple ‘how-to’ level.
“There is a lot of great work being done around sustainability at an industry level and many seeds are being planted,” says Australian Living managing director Cameron Rosen. “We want to bring the community into the picture and take them on a journey of opportunity.”
Members of the industry from all of the different sectors, including but now limited to, businesses, architecture firms, development firms, governments and those in the green building sector will make up the task force, offering an extremely wide scope of industry expertise.
A dialogue will now be formed between the industry and the public, allowing for smoother green building/technology implementation, greater industry transparency and encouragement for public support for green initiatives.
