In a move that is set to have significant implications for the built environment sector, the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has teamed up with several foreign-headquartered green building organisations to establish a common standard across how sustainable building products and materials are assessed.
The GBCA has partnered with 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).
Together, they will create consistency across rating systems including BREEAM, LEED, Living Building Challenge, WELL and the GBCA’s Green Star.
Construction is responsible for more than half of the world’s raw materials extraction.
However, the tools and frameworks used to measure the impacts of building products often differ between organisations and countries, creating confusion and duplication for manufacturers, designers and building owners.
Additionally, with the emergence of more stringent sustainability reporting requirements being driven by frameworks such as the Taskforce for Climate- and Nature-related Financial Disclosures and other international standards guiding sustainability, the GBCA says it is vital that reporting metrics globally align to enable benchmarking and measurement.
This partnership is expected to create a common approach for materials assessment by adopting a common language, aligning data and metrics, and establishing global targets for climate, nature and circularity.
Manufacturers will be able to prioritise sustainable products and report data in a more streamlined way.
Specifiers will have clearer access to verified claims and be better able to compare product information.
Building owners will be better placed to meet sustainability commitments and future-proof their assets by aligning with global standards.
“The global impact of the supply chain of the building industry is staggering, impactful, and therefore, we collectively have a huge lever for positive change. By aligning international guidance on healthy and sustainable materials specifications, we can send a clear message to our global supply chains that buildings must be built with materials that are fundamentally good for people and the planet,” ILFI chief Executive officer Lindsay Baker says.
Alignment across major rating tools will deliver immediate benefits for manufacturers and project teams.
The first deliverable will be a call to action, outlining the goals of the partnership in greater detail and raising awareness of them.
A principles and metrics paper is planned for 2026, setting out the roadmap for alignment.
After that, further work will follow to integrate the shared approach across rating tools and provide clear guidance for the industry.
“By working together, we can give industry the clarity it needs, reduce duplication, and accelerate a global shift to healthier, lower-carbon, circular materials,” GBCA CEO Davina Rooney says.
“International consistency on materials has been the missing piece in the global climate response. This partnership fills that gap and sets us up to achieve climate-positive outcomes faster, together.”
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