Following her recent World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) Chairman’s Award for her work in advancing sustainable building, CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Romilly Madew, says Australia’s real estate market has now been named as the greenest in the world.

“In September, GRESB, the global benchmark for environmental, social and governance reporting for real estate assets, named our market the world’s greenest for the seventh year in a row,” says Madew.
“GRESB assessed 850 real estate companies and funds, representing more than 77,000 properties and US$3.6 trillion in global assets under management,” she says.

According to GRESB, Australian companies Lendlease, Dexus, Stockland, Vicinity Centres, Frasers Property Australia and Goodman Group were all named either global or regional sector leaders. 

“These are just a handful Australian companies among the record 66 companies with $205 billion in assets that reported to GRESB this year, up from 55 last year,” says Madew.

Insofar as her work with the GBCA is concerned, Madew points out that Green Star is now ‘institutionalised’ in many markets in Australia.  

“We have certified more than 1,700 Green Star-rated buildings, fit outs and communities. 37 percent of office space is Green Star certified. There are 70 Green Star communities and precincts in Australia, and 1.3 million people visit a Green Star-rated shopping centre each day,” she says.

Speaking of her award, Madew notes that while the award was for the support she and the GBCA provided WorldGBC and other GBCs, “we were only able to do this due to the attitude and leadership of our entire industry in Australia, which this therefore recognises.”

“I’m so proud of the GBCA’s achievements, which has only been possible because of the unwavering support of our members, this truly is a reflection of the way we collaborate as an industry.”

“We have an incredibly strong and influential industry association in Australia – something that is not the case in many other parts of the world,” says Madew.

“International recognition undoubtedly helps amplify our message. Awards like this not only give the community confidence that Australia’s property industry is committed to sustainable buildings that are good for people and planet. It also encourages our industry to continue to lead and innovate.”

“It really is a virtuous circle,” she says.