31 Oct 2024
For too long, we’ve treated our buildings and infrastructure in isolation, even though we pour the same concrete for both, lay the same steel, and ultimately face the same climate impact.
To achieve net zero in the built environment, we must work together – starting with a conversation about how we translate the global net zero definitions into practice for the infrastructure sector in Australia.
Green Building Council of Australia released the Climate Positive Roadmap for the built environment, which established net zero definitions for buildings and fitouts, in 2021. The Climate Positive Roadmap for precincts followed in April 2022.
This month, Infrastructure Net Zero launched a consultation process to learn from global infrastructure standards like PAS 2080, and to ensure we translate that into clear, industry-wide definitions for net zero infrastructure in Australia. With infrastructure enabling 70% of Australia’s emissions, integrating it into the net zero equation is essential.
Since its inception in 2023, Infrastructure Net Zero has gained momentum. Three federal agencies and seven peak bodies, including the GBCA, are collaborating to map out Australia’s net zero pathway for infrastructure. In June, Infrastructure Net Zero members joined the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council network, and this new consultation process marks another significant milestone. The results of this consultation, expected in 2025, will help shape the future of sustainable infrastructure in Australia. Stay tuned for updates.
While the consultation continues, the early 2024 GRESB results offer a glimpse of what’s possible when ambition meets action.
This year, GRESB assessed more than AU$13 trillion (US$9 trillion) worth of real estate and infrastructure assets, spanning over 208,000 properties in 80 markets. Oceania – which includes Australia, New Zealand and Pacific nations – was the leading region for both ‘development’ and ‘standing investments’. For infrastructure assets, Oceania is slightly behind the global average – and we think Infrastructure Net Zero can change this.
As the company-specific GRESB results roll in, we are proud to see further evidence of spectacular Australian leadership. Congratulations to all our members for their achievements, which you can read in our media release.
The evolving infrastructure story doesn’t end with concrete and steel – it also encompasses natural infrastructure. Earlier this month, the GBCA and the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure co-hosted a session at the inaugural Global Nature Positive Summit in Sydney. We've long championed the built environment as central to the nature-positive movement, and this session reinforced the critical impact of the GBCA’s work, particularly through the Nature Roadmap for the Built Environment.
This month’s featured podcast episode really puts the ‘social’ in social infrastructure. Lendlease’s Jessie Lenson and Marianne Glinka, alongside Suzie Barnett from Two Good Co, joined us at Green Building Day recently to chat about their partnership with impact, and we captured their insights. Two Good has launched a coffee cart at Lendlease’s Victoria Cross development in North Sydney, with the funds raised providing job opportunities for women rebuilding their lives after experiencing homelessness and domestic violence. If you’re looking for a ‘double shot’ of sustainability inspiration this month, this is the one for you.
Finally, shifting from social to residential infrastructure, we have released technical guidance for the new Green Star Buildings Apartments Pathway, which introduces unit-level verification for the first time. This allows developers to verify individual apartment units, not just their buildings. The pathway will be available in early 2025, but we are providing the technical guidance early so everyone can understand how to showcase the benefits of sustainable living, differentiate their developments and help buyers access green finance.
And one last riff on residential infrastructure: seven-time Logie winner Jamie Durie has returned to our screens with his new show, Growing Home. Five years in the making, Growing Home captures the ups and downs of Jamie’s journey as he brings a greener version of the Great Australian Dream to life. I had the pleasure of chatting with Jamie about Green Star Homes, which you'll hear more in a future episode. You can tune in to Growing Home on Friday nights at 8.30pm on Channel 7 or, if you missed the first episode, stream it on 7plus.