Government, industry, and the Nature Positive Path ahead

How the built environment impacts nature has been a growing area of focus for GBCA for several years. Nature is often taken for granted, but in February of this year, the Labor Government released its first National Ecosystem Account confirming what we at the GBCA have long understood — that nature upholds our economy.

In fact, nature underpins nearly half of Australia’s GDP, and every sector depends on healthy ecosystem.

But the reality is, we are at a critical juncture where Australia is facing a biodiversity crisis, due in part to the built environment, while facing rising costs and a need for 1.2 million new homes by 2029. The built environment is more than just bricks and mortar; it represents shelter and security for us all — when we get it right. And so, in the face of converging crises across climate, affordability and housing, the question remains: what of nature?

If we are to create liveable places that are resilient for generations to come, the built environment must be part of the solution to relieve that pressure on nature and encourage regenerative outcomes. Our Nature Positive Roadmap will not only shape the future of Green Star rating tools, but shape GBCA’s advocacy to governments.

The Nature Positive Roadmap and preceding papers are resources that governments of all levels can draw from, while our engagement with industry can provide valuable insights to government.

We released a draft roadmap for discussion that charts a course towards a future where the built environment is nature positive, and we thank industry for their considered feedback.

I know that governments are thinking about this, too. National, state, territory and local governments all have their own suite of legislation and regulations that address environmental issues.

• At the national level, the Australian Government has recommitted to establishing an independent Environmental Protection Agency and to strengthening and streamlining Australia’s national environmental law – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). In its previous term, the government passed legislation to establish the Nature Repair Market, a voluntary national marketplace where individuals and organisations can undertake nature repair projects and attract investors. The first project has now been registered.
• More recently, the Productivity Commission released its interim report on the net zero transformation and highlighted the need for Australia to set clear national environmental standards – a key finding of the 2020 Samuel Review of environmental legislation - to improve certainty and productivity, improve consistency across jurisdictions and accelerate the transition to net zero.
• Meanwhile each state and territory has its own suite of legislation to regulate environmental issues such as pollution control, waste management, natural resource management, and planning.
• Earlier this year, South Australia introduced its first ever Biodiversity Act. The ACT has enshrined the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in its Human Rights Act.

Competing priorities and the regulatory environment are complex, and the built environment represents a big piece of the picture. New development is needed, but it can’t be at the same cost to the environment that we’ve accepted until now. And it’s not just those in the field of sustainability that are saying that - 83% of Australians are concerned about biodiversity loss and are calling for stronger action.

GBCA has been engaging with governments and industry to build a roadmap of how we can meet global goals to lie in harmony with nature by 2050. In the paper we have identified five key challenges, and propose five core principles, each supported by measurable targets. We translate global biodiversity targets into actional, measurable steps, but firmly acknowledge that success will depends on strong policy adoption and the inclusion of First Nations knowledge and leadership.

While the consultation period for industry had closed, I invite you to read the draft Nature Positive Roadmap and get in touch to share your thoughts or to work with us. If you are developing or implementing a relevant policy, the draft Nature Positive Roadmap may be a useful tool.  If you have a Green Star project that’s lifting the bar on nature outcomes, we’d love to showcase it.