Australia leads the way in green buildings

The World Green Building Council has re-appointed Tony Arnel, Chair of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) at its annual meeting, held at GreenBuild, Phoenix. Mr Arnel, is the Victorian Building and Plumbing Commissioner.

Under Mr Arnel's leadership the WorldGBC has seen an increase in country membership of, now at 63 members. The latest members, France, were recognised at the World Green Building Council Congress in Phoenix, Arizona last week, where there were 36 WorldGBC members present; the largest attendance ever.

During the WorldGBC congress there were a number of major achievements and announcements.

The most important achievement was the agreement to develop a common global language for the measurement of the carbon footprint of buildings. Mr Arnel's guidance drove the cooperation and commitment of the world green building councils to join with the UNEP Sustainable Building and Climate Initiative (SBCI) and Sustainable Building Alliance (SB Alliance), to adopt this global initiative.

"The coming together of so many leading green building organisations is unprecedented and appropriate at this critical moment in the world's response to the global challenge of climate change," said Mr Arnel. "This simple, uniform way of assessing the carbon impact of buildings will make corporate and international comparisons much easier".

To assist in driving further international cooperation and global language, the WorldGBC has introduced a new structure which sees the more established GBCs provide leadership and mentoring for the emerging countries. The first of these new regional networks is the Asia-Pacific region, which was launched in Melbourne in September 2009. A regional network approach will see far greater regional focus, with geopolitical linkages, such as a European Region, tapping into the European Union and an Asia Pacific Region that works with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"The new approach will see established green building councils supporting and encouraging those councils in countries aspiring to "established" status. The Regional networks will connect green building councils, provide regional leadership, and advance green building research and education in the region effectively and efficiently by combining our resources," concluded Mr Arnel.

The final major announcement was the appointment of Jane Henley, the current CEO of the New Zealand Green Building Council, as interim Chief Executive for the World Green Building Council.

"Jane has been a great success in New Zealand and is well known in the World GBC community," Mr Arnel said. "I look forward to working with Jane to implement the new direction for the World GBC."

Contact:
Lisa Heinze
Marketing Manager
Green Building Council of Australia
Phone: 02 8239 6208
Mobile: 0421 923 079
Email: lisa.heinze@gbca.org.au