The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has welcomed Infrastructure Australia’s (IA) Australian Infrastructure Audit report as fresh evidence to support urgent action to ensure the productivity, resilience and sustainability of cities and communities across Australia.
GBCA CEO Davina Rooney says “The Audit contains a clear warning that Australia risks becoming one of the highest carbon emitters per capita in the world,” says Rooney.
“However, these stark challenges sit alongside the considerable opportunities that the right infrastructure can unlock to support the increasing demand for services that is coming with the growth of our cities, regional communities and towns.”
The GBCA says that the IA is consistent with the GBCA’s own Carbon Positive Roadmap, and includes a focus on improving the efficiency of appliances, equipment and building envelopes, fuel switching to electric alternatives, and deployment of on-site distributed energy and water systems or offsite low-carbon electricity.
But IA observes that Australian governments often do not incorporate sustainability or resilience into their final infrastructure projects. “The leadership of Australian industry through the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark and the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment informs the significant opportunities for action highlighted in the Audit.”
IA also says that “businesses and households across the country rightly want to know that governments are investing limited public funds in infrastructure that will bring strong productivity benefits to the economy, support our quality of life, and help to deliver a collective vision of a strong, fair and prosperous Australia for many years to come.”
The Australian Infrastructure Plan acknowledged that Australia’s governments and the community would benefit from a set of clear principles to provide a benchmark for high-quality infrastructure decision making,” says Infrastructure Australia chief executive, Philip Davies.
