Guidance document to support healthy and sustainable buildings

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) are working collaboratively to promote health and wellbeing in the design, construction and operations of buildings, fitouts and communities in Australia.

The organisations have released the guidance document ‘Green Star and WELL Building Standard: Approaches to buildings or fitouts seeking a dual rating’, which maps the Green Star credits and criteria that may be used for an assessment under the WELL Building Standard and vice versa. The document is intended to support building owners looking to boost the sustainability of their assets and support the health and wellbeing of people inside the buildings.

“As owners and investors increasingly look to third-party certification to demonstrate transparency, accountability and a commitment to best practice, we must ensure certification is an easy and cost-effective process,” said the GBCA’s head of market transformation, Jorge Chapa.

“By working together to map out the synergies within the two rating tools, project teams can avoid duplication of effort and achieve both Green Star and WELL ratings faster and cheaper. Building owners don’t have to choose between health and sustainability — both are more easily achieved as a result of this work.”

The document provides guidance specific to new buildings or new fitouts being rated under Green Star – Design & As Built or Green Star – Interiors. Future versions will include guidance specific to buildings seeking Green Star – Performance ratings. The document can be downloaded from here.