Turning strategy into action

At Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) we are committed to turning strategy into action. But when action involves deep structural shifts to the fabric of our society, it is sometimes easier said than done.

That’s why one of my favourite takeaways from TRANSFORM spanned two sessions that converted a loud call to action into a bricks-and-mortar response.

COP26 champion Gonzalo Muñoz set the scene at TRANSFORM with an impassioned plea to demonstrate “concrete commitments” to net zero emissions. Immediately following we gained a glimpse into a concrete commitment at Atlassian’s new 100% renewable headquarters. (Read more about Atlassian’s amazing project in our Top 10 Takeways from TRANSFORM).

Later, we launched the next wave of strategic thinking in the sustainability space with a paper that aims to transform efficiency into circularity. Our new Circular Economy Discussion Paper, echoed in many conversations throughout TRANSFORM, confirmed that circularity is at its strategy-setting phase. But we know from hard-won experience that a commitment to measure emissions and waste can, with time, transform business models.

A lot of the transitions that we are describing are thanks to all of you – our leaders, our volunteers, our speakers, and those in industry who partner with us every day to achieve these outcomes.

At TRANSFORM, we proudly announced our Future Green Leader of the Year Award, Kate Rowan. Kate is passionate about diversity, inclusivity and social sustainability. Emerging leaders like Kate and Tatiana Schonhobel, the talented runner up for Future Green Leader, are changing the shape of the built environment.

We also wanted to celebrate our long-term champions through our 2021 Green Star Champions program. The 28 individuals chosen this year have been helping us drive the much-needed transformation of the built environment through Green Star over the past two decades. They include individuals responsible for Green Star-rated train stations, long serving assessors, policymakers, and participants in our many committees and panels.

Finally, I want to acknowledge our outgoing Green Star Expert Reference Panels and Advisory Group members. I would like to thank all of you for your commitment and leadership over the past two years as we have fundamentally changed Green Star. We could not do this without you. 

You may’ve heard me at TRANSFORM highlighting the transformation over decades on the composition of our panels and groups. The outgoing committees met our diversity target (43% female, 57% male), part of our efforts to grow female participation in everything we do and this is a figure we want to maintain or improve, I thank all of you who nominated.

This time last year we were working out how we would continue to be connected across the physical distance created in our first TRANSFORM. After our second digital TRANSFORM we are more united than ever to face the future and partner with industry to change it.