Green Star Revolution will make certification simpler and easier.

Spend less time and money on submissions as we reduce documentation requirements develop streamlined credits.

We are developing 'deemed to satisfy' criteria for a number of Green Star credits that currently require extensive documentation. This will reduce the time and cost involved with the certification process for all projects - regardless of size. Work on the new 'deemed to satisfy' criteria has commenced, with simplified documentation requirements expected to be released by July 2012.

Credits are being simplified in the new Green Star – Interiors tool which will see a reduction in the number of credits to 35. This reduction does not equal a less rigourous process but assesses new issues such as ergonomics, glare from lighting, sustainable procurement guides, construction and demolition waste, and even light pollution.

Download standard templates and examples of successful submissions to guide your project team through the certification process. Standard templates and examples of successful credit submissions will provide clear guidance on format and content requirements, making it easier for project teams to compile Green Star submissions.

We expect this will decrease the time required to compile submissions, and potentially decrease consultancy fees and the overall cost of Green Star certification. The templates will give Green Star assessors easy access to standardised information, which will potentially decrease the time required for assessment. This will help to increase the consistency of Green Star assessment.

The first standard templates were released in June 2011.

Access a comprehensive, consistent online Green Star rating tool for all building types. We are developing an online rating tool platform that will enable projects to achieve Green Star ratings for all buildings, regardless of the mix of spaces within the building.

Currently, at least 80% of a building must be of a certain space type (retail, office or residential, for example) to be able to use the relevant Green Star rating tool. As an example, currently, a 10-storey office building that includes two floors of retail would be rated using the Green Star - Office tool. A single Green Star tool will provide an integrated approach, enabling each space type to be rated using the tool for that space.

The Green Star - Custom project will provide the basis for the single Green Star rating tool, removing inconsistencies between the current Green Star tools and providing project teams with an easy-to-use online platform to rate all building projects.

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Green Star Revolution will deliver more efficient processes.

Achieve fast, cost-effective certification with anytime, anywhere online access to your submissions at your fingertips.

Moving the submission process online will provide a faster, simpler way for project teams to submit Green Star documentation. Project teams will be able review their submissions online, update information in real time and check the status of their assessments. We have started investigations into the development of an online content management system to support this functionality, and expect the Green Star platform will be available by the end of 2012.

Increase the certainty of your credit claims with a free ruling at the start of your project to define the areas addressed by each credit.

Project teams often require a Credit Interpretation Request (CIR) to define how different space types within their project are to be addressed. While this is not mandatory, it provides certainty when determining which spaces are relevant to each credit. The GBCA is improving its service by providing a free area definition ruling for each project. This new process was implemented in June 2011. Read more about the process and how to submit.

Make the important decisions earlier with additional expert technical advice.

The GBCA has a large number of Green Star experts at our fingertips. We're going to help project teams to connect with these experts when they need extra technical expertise in relation to credit submissions. If your project needs extra guidance, speak to your Green Star case manager, who will be able to put you in touch with the right person.

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Green Star Revolution will reduce the costs of certification.

Decrease costs and increase the certainty of Innovation credit claims as Innovation assessments move to Round 1.

Until now, Innovation credits were assessed during Round 2. Project teams told us that this created uncertainty as to whether they would achieve the Innovation points. By moving the assessment of Innovation credits to Round 1, project teams will have more time to provide additional information to substantiate innovation claims. It will also reduce the costs associated with these claims, as project teams will no longer need to include buffer credits just in case they aren't awarded the Innovation points.

Reduce documentation requirements, time and money with new 'deemed to satisfy' criteria for all projects, regardless of size.

We are developing 'deemed to satisfy' criteria for a number of Green Star credits that currently require extensive documentation. This will reduce the time and cost involved with the certification process for all projects - regardless of size. Work on the new 'deemed to satisfy' criteria has commenced, with simplified documentation requirements expected to be released by July 2012.

Eliminate expensive buffer credits through pre-assessment of critical credits.

We are modifying the Green Star certification process to allow pre-assessment of critical credits prior to the official certification process. By conditionally awarding critical credits, we will remove much of the risk associated with Green Star certification, and reduce project teams' need for expensive buffer credits.

Pre-assessment of credits will also enable the GBCA to allocate the assessment of some credits to specialists in each field, which in turn will improve assessment consistency. This new pre-assessment process will be introduced by August 2011.

Gain rewards and recognition for 'doing good' through a value-for-money certification process.

By rewarding innovations, introducing conditional requirements for some categories and examining the introduction of expiry dates on Design and As Built ratings, we'll continue to encourage market leadership while at the same time ensuring Green Star continues to push best practice benchmarks.

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Green Star Revolution will improve the reliability and consistency of Green Star.

Better understand how your Green Star rating links to NABERS as we work together with government to develop a common language for the two rating systems.

We are collaborating with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, which administers the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), to improve consistency between the two rating systems.

In 2010, an MoU outlined our joint commitment to harmonise the rating systems, and a working group has been established. The GBCA will continue to update members on the ongoing progress of this project.

Measure your projects against global common metrics being developed by the WorldGBC and GBCA.

We are co-chairing an international working group to develop common carbon metrics for buildings. It is likely that this system will work alongside the existing carbon metrics used within Green Star.

Consistent reporting has long been a challenge for multinational organisations with buildings across many international boundaries, and a simple, uniform way of assessing the carbon impact of buildings will make corporate reporting and international comparisons much easier. A common carbon metric will also provide governments with an additional incentive to take swift action on energy efficiency initiatives in buildings.

The GBCA believes a common approach to the measurement and reporting of carbon in buildings will be a significant achievement for the future revisions of Green Star tools, and will continue to communicate this project's progress with members.

Access fair, robust assessment, as we improve assessor training and quality, and conduct regular audits.

While formal assessor training programs have been in place for some time, we recognise the need to continually update and improve training to ensure assessors' knowledge is at the leading edge of best practice.

In addition, regular audits of Green Star assessments will enable the GBCA to monitor consistency and deliver the highest standard of assessment. We are developing a plan which involves conducting a minimum number of audits of each assessor.

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Green Star Revolution will improve the clarity and transparency of Green Star.

Learn from the successes of other projects through easy access to updated credits, technical clarifications and credit interpretation requests.

We know projects want easy access to updated Green Star credits, as well as knowledge gained from other projects' Technical Clarifications (TCs) and Credit Interpretation Requests (CIRs). We are making this information available across all existing tools.

Benefit from a more transparent environmental weighting system that ensures environmental impacts, such as water efficiency, reflect climatic variances within each state.

The GBCA is preparing a position paper on the use of environmental weightings in Green Star. This position paper will assess limitations of the current approach and ensure environmental impacts, such as water efficiency, reflect climatic variances within each state.

Obtain regular updates on Green Star Revolution's progress.

We value industry feedback and are working hard to ensure Green Star continues to evolve and improve. We will continue to share our progress with GBCA members and the broader industry, and encourage people to subscribe to our regular Green Star Update e-newsletter.

Share your ideas and experience through annual satisfaction surveys so we can quantify the transformational changes to Green Star.

Satisfaction with Green Star will be monitored and reported annually, through the members' survey, to quantify the impact of Green Star Revolution. These results will be benchmarked against our first satisfaction survey in January 2011.

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Robust new processes and projects will ensure Green Star remains the market-leading environmental rating tool for buildings.

Reinforce the importance of Green Star with your stakeholders, as we examine how to introduce expirations on Green Star Design and As Built ratings.

Green Star-ratings have been instrumental in motivating Australia's property and construction industry to build green. Design ratings encourage project teams to consider Green Star from the initial stages of the project development by providing a comprehensive framework.

However, many projects continue to be promoted as Green Star rated buildings long after they have been built, despite having no certification that demonstrates the Green Star design was reflected in the construction or in the performance of the building. This creates confusion in the marketplace, and may disadvantage buildings that have achieved Green Star - As Built ratings, and more so, buildings that achieve Green Star - Performance ratings in the future.

From 1 January 2013, Green Star - Design ratings will be valid for two years from the building completion date. The expiration of the Design rating reinforces the rigour of the Green Star rating system.

Achieve recognition for the most sustainable solutions through the introduction of conditional category requirements and minimum standards for each star rating.

GBCA is investigating the introduction of minimum requirements in some categories, such as Energy and Water, for each star rating. Mandating a minimum required score for some Green Star categories would guarantee that minimum standards were met across the Green Star tools, and across all star ratings.

Minimum levels of efficiency, such as greenhouse gas emissions reductions within the Energy category and water efficiency within the Water category would facilitate easier comparisons between Green Star-rated buildings of varying building types. It would also deliver measurable improvements in the environmental impact of buildings as the Green Star rating increases.

Increase the rigour of Materials credit claims, with the inclusion of life cycle assessment-based credits in the Green Star Materials category.

Some materials are not explicitly addressed in Green Star, such as glass and light metals. In addition to this, the Green Star Materials credits address the impacts of materials without looking at alternatives. This means that, while we might recognise the benefit of reducing the impact of concrete used in a structure, we don't recognise the difference in environmental impact of timber structures compared with concrete or steel structures. While this simplified approach to materials selection supported the industry's transition to more sustainable practices, project teams are beginning to adopt lifecycle assessment-based selection processes. To respond to this, GBCA is considering an alternative compliance approach to the Materials category credits based upon LCA.

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