31 Jul 2025
“It’s one thing to tick a box and spend a few bucks with an Indigenous supplier or contractor. It’s another to create long-term partnerships. That’s what creates jobs and opportunities for Aboriginal people. What GBCA has done is embed this into Green Star. That creates demand – and demand creates jobs and opportunity.”
These words come from Michael Manikas – a proud Biripi Worimi man, the most senior qualified of Australia’s small number of Indigenous quantity surveyors, and a member of the GBCA’s Reconciliation Action Plan working group.
I begin with Michael not because he says generous things about Green Star (though I’m deeply appreciative), but because true reconciliation begins by listening – and centres First Nations voices in our conversations about place, design and community.
This month, during NAIDOC Week, we launched GBCA’s second Reconciliation Action Plan. This Innovate RAP will guide our work for the next two years, expanding on the foundations of our 2017 Reflect RAP and setting stretch targets for our team.
Importantly, our new RAP recognises the role we play to promote reconciliation through our sphere of influence. When GBCA first began incentivising RAPs more than a decade ago, only a handful of our members had one. Today, more than a hundred GBCA members are actively committed to reconciliation through formal RAPs.
But Michael has always challenged us to do more. While the RAP process has raised industry awareness, Green Star is a tool to keep “raising the bar,” Michael says. (Watch our five-minute video for the full conversation).
The Green Star Indigenous Inclusion credit, introduced with Green Star Buildings in 2020, recognises RAP-driven initiatives, Indigenous-led design through the Australian Indigenous Design Charter, and culturally significant storytelling embedded into buildings and precinct.
We are now seeing this ripple through real world projects. One I love is Melbourne’s new library, narrm ngarrgu, which we spotlight in this month’s Green Building Voice. It makes First Nations artwork by Maree Clark central to the learning experience. Inside, there’s glass partitions etched with native wildlife and carpets that trace the five Kulin nations. Outside, a sculpture evokes an ancient fish trap, while the rooftop terrace is planted with Indigenous bush foods. (Check out our video of narrm ngarrgu, or read case study about Perth’s One the Esplanade for more Indigenous design inspiration.)
This same spirit runs through the extraordinary artwork by Darug Boorooberongal artist Daniel Apps that graces the cover of our RAP. Daniel shares his inspiration for the piece, Nangamay (Dream), in this month’s Green Building Voice: “At the heart of the composition is a large circular meeting space, symbolising GBCA and its role in fostering collaboration and leadership in sustainable building practices. Radiating out from this central hub are pathways that represent the interconnectedness of various projects and initiatives.” Daniel’s artwork invites us to see our own role differently – and that’s the power of reconciliation.
In a change of pace, this month we pay tribute to one extraordinary leader, Cbus Property CEO Adrian Pozzo, who steps down as GBCA Board Chair after three years. Adrian, who joined our board in 2018, has set a strong example of values-driven leadership, and how that translates to values-driven development.
We’re proud to welcome Anthony Boyd, CEO of Frasers Property Australia, as our new Chair, and we continue walking the path – listening, learning and shaping change together.