The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has released a new Carbon Positive Roadmap discussion paper, which establishes the steps required for the country’s built environment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

However, this commitment to decarbonising will not happen without the help of intelligent systems and solutions, the Smart Cities Council Australia and New Zealand says.

“The announcement by the Green Building Council of Australia provides an important driver for the greater digitalisation of the design, construction and operational performance of our built environment assets through the use of intelligent building information modelling tools,” Adam Beck, executive director of the Smart Cities Council, commented.

“The Green Building Council of Australia’s roadmap is backed by some of the biggest developers and property owners in the country. Many of these companies have already committed to meet net zero emissions.

“But they won’t meet those targets without the help of smart technology and data solutions.”

As part of the roadmap, buildings seeking a Green Star rating will have to meet updated requirements—with a proposal that new and existing Green Star-rated buildings will have no greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Existing buildings have to meet this target by 2050 or earlier.

These commitments create incentives for the property and construction industry to specify products and services that drive down their projects’ emissions.

“This will stimulate unprecedented demand for smart meters, Internet of Things devices, renewable energy solutions, battery storage systems and other technologies that promote grid decarbonisation, as well as energy efficient systems and electric vehicles,” Beck adds.

Alongside proposed changes to the GBCA’s existing Green Star rating tool, the Carbon Positive Roadmap outlines high-level outcomes, actions, targets and policy positions required. It was developed to help ensure Australia’s competitiveness and attractiveness for investment, while fulfilling international commitments to reducing carbon emissions, including the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The roadmap also supports the work of the World Green Building Council, and promotes the GBCA into a list of just five Green Building Councils globally to have a net zero carbon buildings certification scheme in place.

In anticipation of the next wave of technology investment to enhance property asset performance in the region, the GBCA is working with the Smart Cities Council on the Smart Buildings Centre of Excellence initiative, which will help ensure Australia builds one of the world’s leading smart buildings marketplaces.

More information about the Smart Buildings Centre of Excellence will be revealed at Smart Cities Week in Sydney, 29-31 October, where government and industry will gather for the premier smart cities event of the year.

The Carbon Positive Roadmap can be downloaded here.

About the Sustainability Awards

The Sustainability Awards is Australia’s longest running and most prestigious awards program dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating excellence in sustainable design and architecture. Nominations received are shortlisted and then winners for each category are announced at a five-star Gala evening hosted this year at the Star, Sydney on 11 October 2018. The daytime event Sustainability Live is a CPD-endorsed education event where industry experts present a range of topics to educate, inform and ignite learning. Buy tickets

Geraldine Chua

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