New Green Star material calculators drive best practice

Three new material calculators will ensure the Green Star environmental rating tools remain at the leading edge of best practice, says the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).

The GBCA has released its new, simplified material calculators, which are referred to as ‘Material Calculators 2.0’. Material Calculators 2.0 assess the fitout products and materials used in a project, as part of Green Star assessment, and aim to stimulate demand for environmentally preferable fit-out products in Australia.

According to the GBCA’s Green Star Director, Andrew Aitken, materials used for fit-out products experience the fastest churn rates in a building and, therefore, represent one of the shortest in-use materials phases of a building’s life cycle.

“The Green Star ‘Materials’ category aims to address and improve the environmental impacts of building products and materials through rewarding reduction, re-use and the use of recycled and other environmentally preferable materials,” Aitken explains.

“The new calculators require less documentation from project teams and will subsequently reduce the costs associated with producing Green Star submissions.

“We expect the Material Calculators 2.0 will be more effective in advancing behavioural changes associated with the selection, use and disposal of fit-out products that are environmentally preferable,” Aitken says.

Many Green Star tools have included material calculators since 2005. These calculators were informed by research commissioned from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Centre for Design.

The full suite of documentation released for public comment can be found at the GBCA website.

“Green Star is an evolving suite of tools that relies on industry assistance, information and expertise. The Green Building Council of Australia is committed to continuous improvement to ensure that our nation’s property and construction industry continues to push the boundaries of best practice sustainability benchmarks, and that the Green Star tools remain robust and easy to use,” Aitken concludes.