Smart green apartments program a great start

Twenty five of Sydney’s apartment buildings are about to get a green makeover.

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has applauded the City of Sydney’s new ‘Smart Green Apartments’ program, which will help building owners to improve the energy efficiency and environmental performance of their buildings.

“Boosting the sustainability of our existing building stock remains a huge challenge, and we are pleased to see the City of Sydney taking a leadership position on this issue,” says Robin Mellon, the GBCA’s Executive Director of Advocacy and Business Services. 

“The vast majority of Australia’s buildings are poor performers in terms of energy and water efficiency, as well as indoor environment quality.  The Smart Green Apartments program will provide the incentives and share the expertise necessary to show building owners that green building retrofits are affordable and achievable,” Mr Mellon says.

The program seeks to create more efficient, cost-effective buildings, with a focus on energy and water efficiency and waste reduction.  The City of Sydney will work with 25 apartment buildings to improve base building performance, minimise environmental impacts and connect residents around greening initiatives.

“The Smart Green Apartments program is a great start – but there is much more work to be done.  We encourage the City of Sydney to widen its sustainability focus and take an integrated approach to sustainability, using the nine categories of the Green Star environmental rating system as a guide,” Mr Mellon says.

“Visionary government leadership and existing building performance are two of the five green building priorities for NSW and Sydney, and we look forward to working closely with the City of Sydney to support its sustainability agenda,” Mr Mellon concludes.

Contact:
Karen Jamal
Communications Manager
Green Building Council of Australia
Phone: 0412 179 135
Email: karen.jamal@gbca.org.au