By Paul Hemsley

Following the release of Green Building Council Australia’s (GBCA) sustainability rating tool Green Star – Communities, the City of Perth is aiming to meet its standard.

According to GBCA, the tool will facilitate more efficient development processes and help developers get their products out to market more quickly, as well as informed choices for customers.

Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said the suite of Green Star tools produced by the GBCA in partnership with the development industry will give building designers and the construction industry necessary tools to deliver ‘best practice’ for buildings.

“The introduction of the communities tool is a logical next step in guiding the sustainable development of Australian cities at the precinct level,” Ms Scaffidi said.

According to Ms Scaffidi, the council is using GBCA’s approach in designing to a five-star standard and building a library in Cathedral Square.

“The City’s Key Worker Housing project in Goderich Street, East Perth, is also being built to achieve a four-star Green Star designed, and as-built, development,” Ms Scaffidi said.

GBCA chief executive Romilly Madew said Green Star – Communities is one of the world’s first independent, transparent, national schemes able to assess and certify the sustainability of community-level development projects.

Ms Madew said the rating tool will provide the federal government with a means for delivering and measuring policy outcomes.

She said state governments will be provided with guidance for planning, approval and benchmarking of significant projects.

Local governments will have a framework for “greater sustainable development outcomes” and collaboration with industry, she said.

“Financiers will gain a framework for sustainable investment,” Ms Madew said.

She said GBCA is seeking expressions of interest from potential pilot projects, which will enable the organisation to test the tool’s draft benchmarks and analyse feedback, which will then be incorporated into the tool’s first version.

Education and skills development opportunities will be supported, as well as an accreditation for practitioners specialising in green communities.