GBCA urges Coalition to lead by example on efficiency

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) says it looks forward to working with the newly elected Coalition to achieve a more productive, healthy and liveable nation.

“During the election campaign, we outlined the GBCA’s three-point plan to achieve greater efficiencies and productivity for our buildings, communities and cities: visionary government leadership; retrofitting and improving existing buildings; and upscaling solutions from building to communities,” said GBCA Chief Executive Romilly Madew.

“We encourage the incoming Abbott government to lead by example, by improving the performance of the federal government’s building stock and achieving environmental ratings for all the buildings it owns, occupies and develops.

“Modelling undertaken by the GBCA has found that improving the energy efficiency of the federal government’s building portfolio by 10% could save more than $35 million a year in electricity costs alone.

“We have also found that, based on the federal government’s current salary costs, a 1% increase in productivity would equal almost $200 million of benefit a year.

“We urge the incoming Australian Government to support industry to transform Australia’s existing building stock. Improving our existing buildings will drive down operational costs for businesses and offer a low-cost, direct opportunity to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“We also call on the Abbott government to commit to policies that will boost productivity in Australian cities and support liveability, community resilience and sustainability. We call on the incoming Australian Government to appoint a Minister for Cities and Urban Development, elevate the Major Cities Unit and to consider new, innovative ways to fund the infrastructure that is vital for creating better communities and cities.

“We look forward to working with the Abbott government to improve our built environment, and with it, Australia’s productivity and performance.”