Tony Arnel elected to World Green Building Council Board

The Chair of the Green Building Council of Australia, Mr Tony Arnel has been elected to the Board of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) in Toronto.

Mr Arnel joins Ché Wall - another Australian and Immediate Past Chair, on the Board. Mr Wall received the Prime Minister's Australian Environmentalist Award in 2004 and was the founding Chair of the WorldGBC. The new Chairman of the Board is Canadian, Kevin Hydes, who has served as the WorldGBC Vice Chairman.

Mr Arnel, who is the current Chair of the Green Building Council of Australia, explained: "This is a great result for Australia and recognition of its green building movement, which is experiencing unparalleled growth.

"The fact we have two Australians on the Board of the WorldGBC reflects the Australian building industry's commitment to sustainability and its desire to be at the cutting edge of innovation in policy, design and technology.

The WorldGBC is the peak global not-for-profit organisation working to transform the property industry towards sustainability.

The WorldGBC consists of 10 national Green Building Councils including: Australia, Canada, United Arab Emirates, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States. The Councils collectively represent over 50 per cent of global construction activity.

Tony Arnel is also Victorian Building Commissioner and Plumbing Industry Commissioner, and was a key figure in the development of the 5 Star energy efficiency standard for housing in Victoria and was instrumental in its adoption nationally in Australia by the Australian Building Codes Board.

"I am proud to join Ché Wall in representing Australia on the Board of the WorldGBC.

"It also illustrates Australia's understanding and commitment to the global nature of sustainability issues and the need to act locally but think globally," said Mr Arnel.