24 Oct 2023
The Green Building Council of Australia has today released its first guide for sustainable home renovations, to help builders, designers and homeowners to make homes more efficient, healthy, and resilient.
Chief Executive of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Davina Rooney said the guide will be a gamechanger for Australians embarking on home renovations.
“In 2021, Australians spent over $11 billion in home renovations, but up until now there hasn’t been an easy way for homeowners and builders to navigate resilient and sustainable options for these renovations,” Ms Rooney said.
The Sustainable Home Renovations Guide, was produced in partnership with Allianz Australia to help Australians navigate more sustainable home renovations and to reduce emissions.
“Whether you're considering small updates such as replacing your taps or lighting, or you're planning a significant home renovation, our guide will help you make choices that may improve a home's efficiency, create a healthier living environment, and increase its resilience to climate changes,” Ms Rooney said.
“As we face another hot summer, it’s never been more important for us to think about the resilience of our homes and the modifications we make to them,” Ms Rooney said.
The guide is designed to provide improved options for industry professionals and homeowners throughout their renovation and follows the principles of the Green Star Homes standard to make homes more energy efficient, healthy and resilient.
Australians spend 90% of their time indoors, with two thirds of this time spent inside the home, resulting in 53%* of Australia’s total built environment emissions coming from our homes.
To complement the guide, Allianz and GBCA created Green Specs, a website to help homeowners navigate the technical side of sustainable home renovations and make more informed decisions around their home.
Through Green Specs, Australians can explore the rooms of a digital floorplan and learn new ways to make their home more sustainable.
Sema Whittle, General Manager of Sustainability at Allianz, said “We’re proud to partner with the GBCA to launch the Sustainable Home Renovations Guide and Green Specs.
The increasing frequency and severity of weather events makes it more important than ever to consider sustainable and resilient elements in our homes.
“The insurance industry has an important role to play in supporting our customers and the community to transition to net zero. In bringing Green Specs to life, our aim is to highlight ways to make homes more sustainable – from small improvements through to large renovations.”
For more information on sustainable homes, and to download the guide you can visit the GBCA website.
* The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Baseline Study 2022
2021 Residential Baseline Study for Australia and New Zealand for 2000 — 2040