29 Apr 2026
Remember when our most advanced buildings were powered by gas? I do.
In 2009, as Stockland’s sustainability manager for commercial buildings, I helped deliver Sydney’s first commercial trigeneration system. This project genuinely raised the bar and a 20% reduction in carbon emissions felt like real progress.
Electrification wasn’t the best option, as there wasn’t enough renewable energy in the grid. Gas was considered a transition fuel, and encouraged by the Climate Council at the time. That’s why, when the GBCA launched its Future Focus program in 2018, I felt both excited and uneasy. The ambition was bold: carbon positive buildings, fully powered by renewables, and no operational emissions by 2030.
We launched Green Star Buildings in 2020, and since then more than 700 projects have used v1 as their roadmap to deliver better, healthier and more sustainable places.
This month, we’re seeing what that looks like. Two community buildings – Yitpi Yartapuultiku in Adelaide and the Maribyrnong Civic Precinct and Community Building in Melbourne – have achieved 6 Star Green Star Buildings v1 ratings. When locally-led civic projects can be delivered without fossil fuels, it changes what we expect of every project that follows.
Green Star Buildings v1.1 resets expectations again. All-electric buildings as a baseline. Nature at the forefront. Circular design built in. All new projects must register under v1.1 from 1 May. In this month’s issue of Green Building Voice, our Senior Manager for Market Engagement Nick Alsop reflects on how project teams have moved from “doubt to determination”.
Determination is the attitude we are taking in the booming data centre sector, which will absorb around 4% of global electricity by 2030. Nine global partners, including GBCA, have launched a new Greening AI Data Centres Coalition this month to define clear, credible standards for sustainable development.
And through our work with AIRAH, we’re continuing to engage industry on higher expectations for refrigerants, as the Australian Government actively considers new standards. We’ve extended the deadline for feedback on our Freeze Frame discussion paper until 29 May to give people more time to respond. More on that in the newsletter.
The first trigeneration plant I worked on was a solution shaped by the constraints of its time. As technology evolves, so do our expectations. Every step forward is progress, not the end state.
The bar that once seemed too high to clear becomes easy to step over. So, no, we’re not raising the bar. Together, we are redrawing the starting line. And once the line moves, there is no going back.