More than 27 million square metres of building space has been certified under the Green Star rating system. This means Green Star certified space has almost doubled in the past two years, up 93 per cent from the end of 2015.
Publishing its annual list of Green Star leaders, the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) said it certified 304 projects in 2017, taking the grand total of projects certified since the rating system was launched in 2003 to 1,721.
GBCA CEO, Romilly Madew, said 525 new projects were registered in 2017, up from 416 in 2016 and 277 in 2015.
"This speaks volumes about the growing influence of Green Star on the market," Madew said.
"Each year, we crunch the numbers to identify the annual leaders who have led the industry by challenging business norms, testing new ideas and pushing the boundaries of best practice. And each year, we are bowled over by the industry's leadership.
"Sustainability is synonymous with building quality, with more than half of all ASX 50 companies operating from Green Star buildings. Increasingly, investors, tenants and building owners understand a Green Star rating helps to manage risk and enhance reputation."
So who are the leaders in this space?
Charter Hall gained Green Star certification for its entire portfolio in 2017, with an impressive 179 ratings in total (178 buildings, and one portfolio rating).
"Charter Hall now has the largest Green Star-rated portfolio in Australia by both number of projects and area, with an eye-watering 3.1 million square metres of Green Star space," Madew said.
Charter Hall's Perth and Melbourne state offices have also received WELL Certified Silver ratings from the International WELL Building Institute, making it the first company in Australia to achieve an interior rating in Victoria and the first project in Western Australia to achieve WELL accreditation.
Charter Hall Group CEO, David Harrison, said the company is proud of its Green Star footprint.
"We care about the environments we create for our tenants with 178 of our office, retail and industrial assets achieving a Green Star – Performance rating and 19 Green Star ratings for projects achieving 5 Star Green Star or above," he said.
"These ratings provide us with a framework to set longer-term targets to continually improve our performance and to deliver superior returns for our investors."
Frasers Property has registered 82 buildings for Green Star – Performance ratings in 2017, as well as 24 other projects. When these projects are certified it will take Frasers Property's total to 231.
Frasers Property has individual green icons – like One Central Park, The Ponds and Fairwater – as well as more Green Star industrial facilities than any other developer in the country.
Frasers Property Australia's general manager of sustainability, Paolo Bevilacqua, said that looking ahead it's important that Green Star continues to evolve to reflect changing policy and market conditions.
Madew said Investa Office Management also deserves applause for certifying a portfolio of 27 assets.
"Investa consistently demonstrates that sustainability provides a pathway to long-term investment returns, as well as shareholder and community value," she said.
Commonwealth Bank delivered 10 Green Star certified interiors projects – one 6 Star and nine 5 Star projects – and now has more Green Star bank branches than any of its competitors.
The Commonwealth Bank's executive general manager of group property and security, Jennifer Saiz, said that as an organisation, the bank drives positive change through good business practice.
"Building and operating more sustainable branches is just one way we can achieve this," she said.
On the consultancy front, Arup Australasia and WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff worked on more Green Star certified projects than any other consultancy in 2017, with a total of eight each for the year, and a further 38 projects registered in 2017 between them.
Madew also singled out the achievements of three sustainability leaders: Lendlease, Stockland and Mirvac.
Stockland was the only Australian company to be included on the 2017 Climate A list released by CDP, the non-profit global environmental disclosure platform.
Stockland is set to roll out Australia's largest ever property solar project at 10 of its shopping centres across the country, which will see more than 39,000 photo voltaic panels installed.
And Mirvac was ranked the most sustainable real estate company in the world by Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which assesses the world's 2,500 largest publicly traded companies.
The story on a state by state basis
Of the 304 Green Star projects certified in 2017, 115 came from New South Wales. This was followed by Victoria (68), Queensland (57), West Australia (41), South Australia (12), ACT (six), and Tasmania (three) and NT (two).
The Victorian Government achieved ratings for seven railway stations under the Level Crossing Removal Project last year.
GBCA CEO, Romilly Madew, said the Victorian Government’s draft framework for Fishermans Bend, which will one day be home to 80,000 people, “establishes a clear vision for Australia’s largest urban renewal precinct”.
In Queensland, the release of the Queensland Building Plan has been a significant policy win for the GBCA, as it “progresses many of our industry’s recommendations”. Among them are measures to improve the sustainability of Queensland Government buildings, reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency.
Madew said other wins for the sustainability sector this year have been the collaborative engagement between the federal Department of Environment and Energy and NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (NABERS team) to deliver the National Carbon Offset Standards for buildings and communities, and the ongoing leadership of local governments.
“I’d like to pay particular tribute to the Adelaide City Council for its work delivering Carbon Neutral Adelaide. This is truly ground-breaking and raises the bar for other cities around Australia,” she said.