Green Star

by Green Building Council of Australia

(NGO)

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Green Star is Australia’s only national comprehensive environmental rating scheme which benchmarks the design, construction and operations for buildings, fitouts and communities.

Project implemented: 2003

Project goal

To provide a common language of sustainability and deliver healthy, productive, liveable buildings and communities.

delivering on

why is this project important?

The built environment is currently the world’s single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and also consumes around a third of our water, and generates 40 per cent of our waste. Green Star is helping to improve environmental efficiencies in our buildings, while also boosting productivity, creating jobs and improving the health and wellbeing of our communities.

impact to date

27 million
Square meters of building area that have been Green Star certified.
62%
Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from a Green Star certified buildings compared to an average building.
625,000 tonnes per annum
Greenhouse gas emissions saved from Green Star certified buildings - equal to taking 172,000 cars off our roads.
51%
Reduction in potable water used by a Green Star certified building compared to an average building.
96%
Construction and demolition waste recycled by a Green Star certified building on average.
66%
Reduction in electricity consumption for a Green Star certified building compared to an average building.

Encouraging environmental leadership: Undertaking voluntary Green Star certification demonstrates leadership, innovation, environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

Inspiring innovation: Green Star encourages industry innovation and sustainable leadership. All Green Star rating tools include an ‘Innovation’ category which rewards projects that implement new technologies and approaches or exceed current industry best practice.

Building a sustainable future: Green Star continues to evolve and expand to meet the demands of our industry, and we are working hard to ensure that achieving Green Star certification is simple and cost-effective.

Launched by the GBCA in 2003 as Australia’s only national, voluntary and holistic rating system for sustainable buildings and communities, Green Star is an internationally recognised built environment rating system. The Green Star rating system has been developed by Australian industry, collaboratively with government, and locally adapted to suit the Australian market.

From individual buildings to neighbourhoods, precincts and entire communities, Green Star is transforming the way our built environment is designed, constructed and operated.

Green Star assesses the sustainable design, construction and operation of buildings, fitouts and communities. There are four Green Star rating tools available:

  • Green Star – Design & As Built
  • Green Star – Interiors
  • Green Star – Performance
  • Green Star – Communities

The rating tools cover a broad range of sustainable topics including energy and emissions and provide an overall rating, with 4-star meaning ‘best practice’, 5-star meaning ‘Australian excellence’ and 6-star meaning ‘international excellence’. The program is voluntary and covers residential, industrial, office, retail, accommodation, education and public buildings.

Green Star certification is a formal process during which a building, fitout, or precinct is awarded a rating by an independent, third party assessment panel of sustainable development experts through a documentation-based assessment. A Green Star certified rating provides independent verification that a building or community project is sustainable.

While office buildings make up the largest proportion of certified buildings to date, Green Star has been applied to almost every type of building and a wide range of communities from business precincts to communities designed to become home to over 500,000 people.

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