by Brianna Crandall — December 18, 2015—To mark the inaugural Buildings Day held as part of the COP21 climate change negotiations in Paris, the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) pledged to drive the industry towards “net zero” new building. A new label in the organization’s Green Star certification program will be introduced in 2016 to recognize buildings that achieve net zero impact in energy, carbon and water.
GBCA Chief Executive Officer Romilly Madew explains:
This new label will also recognize buildings that go beyond net zero to make positive contributions to the environment, such as generating more renewable energy than is consumed. Alongside this label, we will introduce an advanced curriculum to educate professionals on how to deliver net zero buildings, promote net zero as an achievable goal in our events, and create resources that can be used internationally to drive the uptake of net zero building worldwide.
The GBCA says it will also continue collaborating with local, state and federal governments to develop policies and initiatives that lead to greener buildings, sustainable communities and productive cities.
Madew adds:
The Australian market is already leading the world in terms of sustainability in some sectors – and we have five years at the top of the GRESB table to prove it. Our next challenge is to embrace a net zero philosophy. The GBCA’s vision is to recognize and reward projects that make a positive contribution to the environment.
