24 Mar 2020
Green Star buildings attract financial premiums, reduce operational costs and enhance the human experience.
These are just three of the benefits outlined in the Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA’s) new business case for Green Star.
Green Star in focus: The business case was launched by the GBCA’s Chief Executive Officer Davina Rooney at the TRANSFORM online conference today.
Established in 2003, Green Star is Australia’s leading standard for sustainability in the design, construction and performance of buildings, fitouts and communities.
More than 2,500 projects have achieved Green Star ratings, 40% of Australia's CBD office space and retail space is Green Star certified, and half of ASX50 companies use Green Star to guide their property decisions.
Speaking at the launch, Ms Rooney said Australia had a “powerful and positive story to tell” about the value of Green Star projects.
“In the last 18 months, the value dynamic has shifted dramatically as investors and consumers expect more from companies than ever before. As investors re-evaluate their portfolios to manage their risk, they need clear and consistent benchmarks to compare assets – and they are turning Green Star to do so,” Ms Rooney added.
Green Star in focus outlines how Green Star delivers a qualitative and quantitative benefits across the value chain, and offers insights from institutional investors, asset owners, governments, developers, professional services, office tenants, real estate agents and more.
For example, Green Star buildings consume 66% less electricity and 51% less water than the average Australian building, which translates into financial savings. Green Star-rated office buildings deliver a 4.3% ‘green premium’ at the time of sale, a 13% higher return, a 25% longer Weighted Average Lease Expiry as well as a 56% lower vacancy rate, the report also finds.
The report also examines the growing movement in sustainable financing with the International Finance Corporation saying green buildings ‘have emerged as a sizeable investment opportunity’ worth $24.7 trillion by 2030.
Green Star also helps companies demonstrate leadership, communicate with customers, reduce project risk, attract talent, accelerate innovation, and inspire supply chain collaboration. The rating system is increasingly used as a tool to attract finance and tax concessions, meet reporting obligations and prepare assets for a carbon positive future.
The report also reveals a decrease in Green Star certification costs – down to 2.5% on average per project, from 2.9% in 2016. Costs continue to fall as the industry upskills and as GBCA proactively looks for opportunities to streamline certification processes, Ms Rooney said.
“Australia’s property and construction industry is on a long journey, and the challenges we currently face – from climate change to coronavirus – demand a completely different way of doing business,” Ms Rooney added.
“We need deeper engagement and more joined-up thinking along every link in the value chain. No single company can drive reform and innovate at the necessary scale and speed. We need collective action – and Green Star is a vehicle to help us take that action.”
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) is the nation’s authority on sustainable buildings and communities. The GBCA’s mission is to accelerate the transformation of Australia’s built environment into one that is healthy, liveable, productive, resilient and sustainable. The GBCA works with industry and government to encourage policies and programs that support its mission. The Council educates thousands of people each year on how to design and deliver sustainable outcomes for Australia’s buildings and communities. And it operates Australia’s only national, voluntary, holistic rating system for sustainable buildings and communities – Green Star. See: www.gbca.org.au