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Business View Australia - June 2015 37
and entire communi ties, have
achieved Green Star ratings
af ter being assessed against
a range of environmental im-
pact categories, from water and
waste, to energy and emissions.
The Value of Green Star (2013)
repor t, found that on average,
Green Star- cer ti f ied buildings:
• produce 62% fewer green-
house gas emissions than av-
erage Austra-
lian buildings
• use 66%
less electric-
i ty than aver-
age Australian
buildings
• con-
sume 51% less potable wa-
ter than i f they had been
buil t to meet minimum in-
dustr y requirements
• Recycle 96% of their
waste, compared wi th
58% for the average new
construction project .
A range of international re-
por ts have also conf irmed that
green buildings reduce opera-
tional costs, improve return on
investment, boost productivi ty,
heal th and wellbeing and en-
hance corporate reputation.
The Building Bet ter Returns re-
por t (2011) found that Green
Star- rated buildings deliver a 12
per cent ‘green premium’ in val -
ue and a f ive per cent premium
A sustainable building is for
rough sleepers as much as
it is for investment bankers
CONSTRUCTION