Green Building Council of Australia
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), established in 2002, is a not-for-profit industry association that promotes sustainability in the built environment. The GBCA is best known for developing the Green Star rating system for buildings and communities.
The GBCA was one of eight national councils which helped to found the World Green Building Council.[1]
The GBCA's member companies comprise developers, local, state and federal governments, owners, professional services firms, investors, manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, facility and asset managers, universities, professional societies, utilities and contractors.
The GBCA's Chief Executive is Romilly Madew and Chair is Rod Fehring from Frasers Property Australia.
Green Star
The Green Building Council of Australia released the first Green Star rating tool for offices in 2003, and subsequently released rating tools for office interiors, education, healthcare and industrial facilities, public buildings, multi-unit residential developments and retail centres. Today, the GBCA operates four Green Star rating tools: Green Star - Design & As Built (for any building type); Green Star - Communities (for neighbourhoods and precincts); Green Star - Performance (for building operations) and Green Star - Interiors (for fitouts).
Special Green Star rating tools have been developed for buildings that fall outside the scope of Green Star rating tools, including supermarkets, restaurants and railway stations.
The system assesses and rates buildings, fitouts and communities against a range of environmental impact categories, and aims to encourage leadership in environmentally-sustainable design and construction, showcase innovation in sustainable building practices, and consider occupant health, productivity and operational cost savings.