What is Green Star?

Green Star is a comprehensive, national, voluntary environmental rating scheme that evaluates the environmental design and achievements of buildings.

Green Star was developed for the property industry in order to:

- Establish a common language;
- Set a standard of measurement for green buildings;
- Promote integrated, whole-building design;
- Recognise environmental leadership;
- Identify building life-cycle impacts; and
- Raise awareness of green building benefits.

Read more background information.

Green Star covers a number of categories that assess the environmental impact that is a direct consequence of a projects site selection, design, construction and maintenance. The nine categories included within all Green Star rating tools are:

- Management
- Indoor Environment Quality
- Energy
- Transport
- Water
- Materials
- Land Use & Ecology
- Emissions
- Innovation

These categories are divided into credits, each of which addresses an initiative that improves or has the potential to improve environmental performance. Points are awarded in each credit for actions that demonstrate that the project has met the overall objectives of Green Star.

Once all claimed credits in each category are assessed, a percentage score is calculated and Green Star environmental weighting factors are then applied. Green Star environmental weighting factors vary across states and territories to reflect diverse environmental concerns across Australia.

The following Green Star Certified Ratings are available:

4 Star Green Star Certified Rating (score 45-59) signifies 'Best Practice'
5 Star Green Star Certified Rating (score 60-74) signifies 'Australian Excellence'
6 Star Green Star Certified Rating (score 75-100) signifies 'World Leadership'

Although Green Star certification requires a formal process, any project can freely download and use the Green Star tools as guides to track and improve their environmental performance.

Download Green Star Rating Tools.

Read about the development of Green Star rating tools.