Collaboration to spotlight sustainable commercial buildings

A new collaboration announced by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and Domain Group’s Commercial Real Estate will see the two organisations work together to share knowledge on the sustainability initiatives of Australia’s commercial buildings.

Recognising the transformational impact the GBCA’s Green Star rating system is having across Australia’s property market, all 4 to 6 Star Green Star ratings will now feature on Commercial Real Estate’s Building Profile pages.

“Delivering the most detailed and comprehensive listings possible is a key focus for us and we are thrilled to collaborate with GBCA and showcase this valuable data to our users,” said Domain Group Product Director Maty Paule.

GBCA CEO Romilly Madew said the move reflects the growing value being placed on sustainable building, noting, “A building’s green credentials are an increasingly critical factor in its commercial performance, heavily influencing its attractiveness to both landlords and tenants.

“Green Star certification provides a competitive edge. Companies who build or retrofit to Green Star standards can realise higher returns, improve tenant attraction, reduce overheads, better attract and retain staff, and importantly, help improve the productivity and health of their workforce,” she continued.

“We know that green-rated buildings deliver up to a 30% premium over non-rated buildings. Buildings that are Green Star rated for their design and construction consume around half the energy and water of non-rated buildings. People working in Green Star certified spaces are up to 15% more productive.”

Madew revealed that more than 37% of Australia’s office space is now Green Star certified, with 5% of the nation’s workforce heading to a green office daily. She referred to the inaugural International Green Building Adoption Index, which found that Sydney and Melbourne ranked third and fourth in the world for their amount of green-certified floorspace, behind only Vancouver and Toronto.

“Australia is a sustainability world leader in the built environment and this new partnership with Commercial Real Estate shows just how far our Green Star market has matured and will support its expansion even further — to the benefit of workers, communities, companies and, of course, our environment,” Madew said.

Image caption: GBCA Head of Public Affairs Jonathan Cartledge (left) with Domain Group Product Director Maty Paule (right) at Green Building Day, Sydney.