The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has confirmed a record year for the number of properties receiving its Green Star certification.
GBCA’s Green Star is a sustainability rating system for buildings, fitouts and communities.
The Green Star: A year in focus FY2024-25 report shows almost 2000 certifications across communities, buildings, performance and interiors were achieved in the 2024-25 financial year, marking it the most active year in Green Star’s history.
There was a diverse mix of projects that secured Green Star certifications. Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre earned itself a 6 Star Green Star Design as the first 100 percent renewable energy powered, zero greenhouse gas-emitting aquatic centre.
The Embassy of Australia in Washington DC achieved a 4 Star Green Star rating, becoming the first embassy overseas to do so.
The Centina Guild Terrace Townhouses in South Australia is a development of 41 architecturally designed 5 Star Green Star-rated townhouses within the 6 Star Green Star community of Bowden.
“This year has shown us that sustainability is no longer an afterthought to the built environment, but embedded into its DNA, welcoming a new normal for the industry and Australians,” GBCA’s chief impact officer Jorge Chapa says.
“Whether it’s the certification of an all-electric aquatic centre or a community that highlights the best of adaptive reuse and high performing homes – industry has taken the challenge of creating systemic change in the built environment, head on.”
To date, GBCA has issued over 7000 certifications. It says that 3.8 million people visit a Green Star-rated shopping centre each day; 74 million square metres of building space is Green Star certified; there are 21,000-plus hectares of Green Star Communities certified; 1.1 million-plus people will live or work in the Green Star-certified communities; and 930,000-plus people visit and recover in Green Star-certified hospitals each year.
Alongside its Green Star, GBCA says advocacy has also played a role in the government implementing policies around the certification:
- Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy includes preferencing all-electric buildings for new office leases and achieving Green Star for future office buildings purchased or constructed for the Commonwealth.
- West Australian Treasury Corporation Sustainability Bond Framework recognises Green Star certification.
- The New South Wales Government’s Net Zero Government Operations Policy requires all new buildings and fit-outs above $10 million to achieve Green Star ratings.
In October, the GBCA introduced the Green Star Buildings v1.1, an updated tool to rate sustainability measures undertaken in the built environment. It is applicable for both new buildings and major refurbishment builds.
That same month, it announced that it had teamed up with several foreign-headquartered green building organisations including the Building Research Establishment (BRE), mindful MATERIALS, the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and the US Green Building Council (USGBC) to establish a common standard across how sustainable building products and materials are assessed.
Read more: GBCA partners with international organisations for standardisation of sustainability frameworks
