Green Building Council Response

Read the response from the Green Building Council of Australia to the letter from the coalition of manufacturers:

Background Information

Green Star was developed by the Australian property industry, for organisations interested in adopting a leadership position in sustainable development.

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

Green Star's goal is to improve the sustainability of our built environment by recognising and rewarding companies that are prepared to demonstrate leadership in improving environmental building practices.

Since its inception, Green Star has enjoyed widespread support and endorsement from a range of people across the industry including developers, builders, architects, manufacturers, environmental groups and governments who share a commitment to better practice and reducing the environmental impact of our buildings. The introduction of Green Star has resulted in:

• More than 600 GBCA member organisations, spread across different sectors of the property industry;
• 70 Green Star Certified Projects;
• 611 Green Star Registered projects across Australia, spread across eight voluntary rating tools for different property types;
• More than 6,800 people have taken the one-day Green Star course, resulting in more than 2,500 qualified Green Star Accredited Professionals.

By targeting outcomes (reduction in demand, reuse of resources, recycling of materials), Green Star certified projects compared to non green buildings are achieving on average a reduction in energy savings of up to 85%, potable water use of up to 60%, and 69% of waste is being diverted from landfill (as a result of construction and demolition)..

This has resulted in a reduction of carbon emissions estimated to be in the millions of tonnes.

However, the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and its members have always acknowledged that Green Star is an evolutionary tool that must be continually improved as new products are developed and research reveals greater insights into existing ones.

Comments
According to Ms Romilly Madew, Chief Executive of the Green Building Council of Australia "the treatment of certain materials by Green Star, such as timber, is currently under review. All parties have been able to contribute and lodge submissions to that review process. While Green Star is an evolutionary tool, recognising environmental improvements in manufacturing processes for example, Green Star fundamentally encourages environmentally sustainable practices.

"Green Star, therefore discourages the use of materials which involve practices considered to be environmentally unsustainable, such as the logging of old growth forests, or which have significant health implications arising from their manufacture or end-of-life, such as carcinogens, mutagens or other toxic compounds".

"Although the Green Building Council of Australia supports the concept of the whole-of-life product framework, we realise that a substantial amount of research needs to be done to assess all the products and material that are used to construct a building. In addition, such a framework needs to be applicable by the building industry without requiring significant increases in time, resources and costs that would make it untenable. The Green Building Council is currently involved with an RMIT project considering life-cycle analysis."

"Industry leaders such as the Vinyl Council and the National Association of Forest Industries, are best placed to take up the opportunity of working constructively with the Green Building Council of Australia to encourage the property industry to move towards more sustainable practices.

" The GBCA, and the Green Star team in particular, have worked hard to maintain constructive dialogue with these and other industry bodies in order to address a range of environmental issues and concerns about the assessment of materials and develop potential solutions.

"We will continue the process of engaging with these stakeholders to ensure Green Star always represents best practice and beyond within the sector" commented Ms Madew.