Australian Living has launched the Sustainable Home Registry to help track the number of sustainable homes that are designed and built across Australia.

The registry will track, list and report the number of new homes being designed and built in Australia that are rated 7+ stars in thermal efficiency as well as being constructed with sustainable building materials and utilising energy and water savings.

Grant Daly who manages the Master Builders Association of NSW ‘Green Living’ program said that he supports the development of the Registry as a means of providing interested consumers with the ability to identify ‘green’ builders and associated operatives who are tracked as sustainable.

“I see the Sustainable Home Registry as a means of measuring what is anticipated as rapid and accelerated growth in the sustainability context as the costs of utilities continue to spiral upwards.” said Daly.

From an architects perspective, Melonie Bayl-Smith, director at BIJL Architects has been positive about the introduction of a registry and said it is an important move for the design and building industry.

“The establishment of the Sustainable Home Registry by Australian Living is an excellent proposal – a registry such as this will create highly visible and recognisable benchmarking for sustainable architecture, design and building in this country. Such a registry is essential if the design community at large wish to promote a real understanding of what sustainable design and building is, and what these projects can contribute and say about the future of our built environment.” said Bayl-Smith.

Dick Clarke, director at Envirotecture is another supporter of the registry.

"Change toward sustainability never seems to happen as quickly as I would like, and risk aversion is a key obstacle in the building industry. The Sustainable Home Registry is a really useful way of proving to decision makers that they are not going out too early, or risking too much. It's a way of showing that the demand is there, and if they commit products or policies etc, they will be rewarded."   

To find out more and to submit a design to the Registry, click here.