28 Aug 2024
What happens when change makers lean in at the same moment in time? It struck me recently that the answer to this question is playing out around Australia.
Governments at all levels are showing how public policy and exemplar projects drive innovation and investment, encourage collaboration and engagement, and catalyse large-scale change.
This week, we proudly supported the launch of the ACT Government’s Sustainable Building Pathway, which charts a course towards international best practice and climate resilience. The 10-year plan borrows from Every Building Counts, which we launched in collaboration with the Property Council of Australia in 2023, as a policy framework and shows government, industry and the community can come together to drive change.
This is just one inspiring example of many that show how Australia’s policy landscape is evolving. The NSW Government’s Sustainable Building SEPP, Infrastructure NSW’s Net Zero Plan, the federal government’s Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy and the Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy are a few more signs of the times. And the first ever joint meeting of federal, state and territory Energy and Climate Change Ministers and Building Ministers on 23 August shows us the direction of travel.
Our advocacy team is far from complaining about the workload, but the rapid escalation in calls for submissions this year underscores the huge policy shifts underway.
Public consultation on proposals for the 2025 update of the National Construction Code has closed, and we are optimistic that more rooftop solar, EV charging and electrification-ready buildings are around the corner.
Consultation to expand NatHERS and develop a national framework for home energy ratings are underway; so too is consultation to expand the Commercial Building Disclosure Program. All these measures were recommendations of Every Building Counts.
As policy moves at pace, we are also seeing the Green Stars of government leadership shine as train stations, schools and hospitals, social housing developments and sporting facilities achieve ratings. A scan of our recent case studies tells stories of government leadership in exemplar projects and teams of committed people determined to do better.
As governments lean in from all directions it is our role at the GBCA is to make sure there isn’t a traffic jam of opportunity. We continue to use voluntary levers, like Green Star, to lift the benchmarks for industry leadership while working with government policy to ensure the whole market rises over time.
In the spirit of change-making, we are delighted to feature one of our early Green Star champions in our ‘Five minutes with…’ feature in this month’s Green Building Voice. Elena Bondareva, who led the Green Star technical team in the GBCA’s early days, is the author of Change-maker's Handbook: Everything you need to know to create meaningful impact through business. Elena has distilled two decades of research and practice into an actionable roadmap to help change-makers everywhere lean in that little bit further.