by Shane Henson — October 31, 2012—The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has launched a new rating tool to assess the interior fitout of any building type—whether a hospital, a hotel, a school, a shop or an office.
The Green Star—Interiors PILOT rating tool is a “next generation” Green Star rating tool, having evolved from the Green Star—Office Interiors v1.1 rating tool, says the GBCA, an organization established in 2002 to develop a sustainable property industry in Australia and drive the adoption of green building practices through market-based solutions.
The GBCA released the Green Star—Office Interiors v1.1 rating tool in 2005 to encourage higher levels of environmental sustainability in office fitouts by providing best practice benchmarks for a range of issues such as natural light, fresh air, waste management and low-emissions materials. More than 100 offices around Australia have achieved Green Star certification under the rating tool, with a further 100 projects registered for certification, says the organization.
“Based on our experience designing, constructing and occupying Green Star-rated tenancies, we believe that a building’s interior has the greatest positive impact on the health, well-being and performance of its occupants,” says Michael Barnes, chief executive officer of ISIS Group Australia, which is the gold sponsor of Green Star—Interiors. “We expect the new Green Star—Interiors rating tool will reinforce this view and provide greater opportunity for businesses across a broader range of buildings to enjoy the social, environmental and economic benefits of a Green Star fitout.”
