Green Star – Communities

by Green Building Council of Australia

(NGO)

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Green Star – Communities assesses the planning, design and construction of large scale development projects at a precinct, neighbourhood and/or community scale. It provides a rigorous and holistic rating across five impact categories.

Project implemented: 2012

Project goal

Providing a vision, a set of principles and aspirations to help guide and support the development of sustainable communities.

delivering on

why is this project important?

The way our cities and towns are planned, designed and built has an enormous impact on our economy, our wellbeing and our environment. Green Star – Communities represents a sustainable vision for the planning, design and construction of community development projects in Australia.

impact to date

485,000
The number of people moving into Green Star Communities around the country in coming decades.
37
The number of precinct and community-scale projects that have achieved Green Star - Communities certification with a further 19 projects registered around Australia.

Enhance liveability: ensuring that communities are diverse, affordable, inclusive and healthy; they enhance social interaction ad ownership, are safe and caring and improve people’s wellbeing.

Create opportunities for economic prosperity: ensuring that communities encourage opportunities for business diversity, innovation and economic development that support local jobs for people in the region.

Foster environmental responsibility: ensuring that communities protect and restore the natural environmental values of their bio-regions, are less resource intensive and promote infrastructure, transport and buildings that reduce their ecological footprint.

Embrace design excellence: ensuring that communities are desirable, accessible and adaptable, have their own distinct character and identity and evolve over time.

Demonstrate leadership and strong governance: ensuring that communities are characterised by leadership and governance frameworks that are transparent, accountable and adaptable.

Developed by the Green Building Council of Australia in 2012 in consultation with industry stakeholders, the Green Star – Communities national framework and rating tool consists of five principles that define a sustainable community in Australia and sets benchmarks that enable community development projects to be assessed and rated against these principles.

The five impact categories are: governance, liveability, economic prosperity, environment, and innovation.

Developers that incorporate the principles of the framework into community planning and design and those that go on to seek Green Star – Communities certification will not only be recognised for their leadership, but more importantly, they will ensure their communities are on a clear path to achieving:

  • Diverse, affordable, inclusive and healthy places for residents
  • Business diversity and opportunities for economic development and innovation
  • Developments that provide value for money through whole-of-life cost savings
  • A reduced environmental footprint through the protection, maintenance and restoration of local natural environments.

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