Results of membership survey 2007-2008

Being a member-based organisation, it is vital for the Green Building Council of Australia to meet the needs of its members. In 2007, over 300 respondents from our member organisations completed the member survey.

Thank you to all those who provided feedback which has assisted the Green Building Council of Australia in improving its service and providing more of what you requested in 2008.

Why join the GBCA

The top reasons given for joining the Green Building Council of Australia were to enhance the organisation's green credibility (62% of responses), to access information and resources about green building (55% of responses), to influence the direction of the property industry (52% of responses), and to accessing networking opportunities at events and seminars (46% of responses).

In 2008, our new look website will feature more information and resources about green building exclusively for members. In 2008, the Green Building Council of Australia Board will spill and members will have the opportunity to nominate themselves. Furthermore, the events calendar for the next 12 months will expand with more courses, seminars and exclusive networking events being held across Australia.

Barriers to building green

The most important barrier facing the green building industry is the current regulation and financial incentives offered by government. Many members believe that regulation regarding green building should be standardised, compulsory, with higher minimum standards and minimal red tape.

Financial incentives are another big area that the government should play a role in. Many suggested that there should be tax breaks or other financial incentives for building green, as well as more financial support for research about green building and its benefits.

In response, the Green Building Council of Australia will contuinue its advocacy work with government and encouraging a number of different incentives to be introduced.

One other barrier to building green identified was the cost of building green. While the converted are aware that the benefits outweigh the costs, especially in the long term, there are still many who require further cost-benefit analyses. In 2008, the Green Building Council will be launching version two of its landmark publication "Dollars and Sense", a publication first released in 2006, that will be updated to incorporate the changes within the industry.

Other publications to be released in 2008 to continue to break down the barriers include "Valuing Green" and "Emissions Trading and the Built Environment".

Events

Events are an important way for members to receive information about sustainability and changes within the property industry, which was reflected in the survey results. 81% of respondents had attended an a event with a sustainability of green building focus in the past twelve months, 74% of which were hosted by the Green Building Council of Australia.

The majority of respondents have requested even more case study and information events. Suggestions included: presentations on new technologies and innovations; building site tours; more seminars and forums; and more events in other states beside Sydney and Melbourne.

In the first six months of 2008, there will be a Breakfast with the Stars event in Perth, Adelaide, and Hobart, and two Breakfasts each in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Site tours, boardroom lunches and Leading Green Thinkers forums will be introduced into the Green Building Council of Australia event calendar. The annual Green Cities conference will also provide more information and networking opportunities, with the chance to reach over 1000 decision makers from within the property industry.

A new initiative that will also be launched in 2008 is Future Green Leaders of Australia (FGLA), which encourages tertiary students and recent graduates to think about sustainability in the building industry. There will be courses and events specifically tailored for that target. FGLA will address the issue of the growing demand for employees with knowledge and proficiency in sustainability matters.

Courses

The Green Star Accredited Professional qualification is becoming more valued and demanded. 64% of respondents had attended a Green Star Accredited Professional course, and 42% are Green Star Accredited Professionals (an increase from 30% in the previous year). Additionally, of those who are not currently Green Star Accredited Professionals, 52% intend on becoming one in 2008.

More courses had been added the calendar in 2007 in an attempt to keep up with the demand, and the course calendar for 2008 has up to10 courses a month scheduled around the country. Another option for attending a course is to book an in-house course for an organisation -- 18% of respondents stated that their organisation had run an in-house course in the last twelve months.

Green Star

There was an increase from the previous in the percentage of projects seeking Green Star certification, reflecting the growing acceptance of the value of Green Star. 80% of respondents believed that a project their firm is working on will be pursuing Green Star certification in the next twelve months, compared with 60% the previous year. Moreover, 81% of respondents stated that the number of Green Star projects they are working on has increased over the last twelve months (the figure was 67% in the previous year's survey).

The main Green Star tools used were Green Star - Office Design (74%), Green Star - Office Interiors (44%), and Green Star - Office As Built (43%). There were, however, also a substantial amount of respondents who used the pilot tools. 17% used the Green Star - Education PILOT tool, 16% used Green Star - Shopping Centre Design PILOT, and 14% used Green Star - Healthcare PILOT. This highlights how Green Star is expanding beyond commercial office buildings and being welcomed in other areas of the property industry.

Website and e-newsletter

We asked what information you would like to see more of on the website and in the e-newsletter, and once again, the overwhelming response was more case studies. More detailed and technical information about cases and how certified Green Star projects achieved their credits and ratings are desired.

Other suggestions include cost/benefit analyses, information on new technologies and innovations, information on green building products, "lessons learnt: what didn't work", and industry trends and changes.

As mentioned earlier, the website is in the process of being upgraded. There is a view to incorporate more detailed information on the case studies which will include their innovations, what could have been done differently, and how their credits were achieved. This information, as well as the reports being released in 2008 like Dollars and Sense v2 and the Valuation report, will be locked to members on the website.

And finally, some statistics

- 54% of respondents have been members of the GBCA for less than two years.
- The top membership category is Professional Services (44% of responses), followed by Construction Company and Sub-contractors (14%) and Product Manufacturers, Suppliers, Building Controls & Services Contractors (12%). However, these figures are only indicative of those who completed the survey; the numbers would be different when looking at the entire membership base, although the top three categories remain the same.
- The majority of members are in New South Wales (37%) and Victoria (23%), and 13% in each of Queensland and Western Australia.