Business View Magazine - March-April 2016

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122 Business View Australia - March-April 2016 CONSTRUCTION & PR
penthouses overlooking the harbour.
We are proud of the many Green
Star projects that support better
environmental, economic and social
outcomes for everyone.
The Common Ground housing
projects in Sydney and Melbourne
demonstrate that a sustainable
building is for rough sleepers as
much as it is for investment bankers.
Similarly, green features at the
in Sydney have reduced residents’
electricity bills by 25 per cent while
at Monash University’s
cash-strapped
students are paying 45 per cent
less for their electricity. The
project,
also in Sydney, gained an ‘Innovation’
point for specifying that a minimum
of 20 construction workers on the
project were indigenous.
This created jobs, enhanced the
‘green collar’ skills of the local
community, and spread wide the
message that everyone deserves a
sustainable home.
And the Green Star story is about
more than just buildings. If we were
to plot the evolution of the Green
Building Council of Australia over
last 12 years, we’d see theearly
emphasis on the environmental
benefits of green building such as
kilos of carbon, litres of water and
tonnes of waste evolve to consider
economic benefits such as payback
per iods ,
c o s t
s a v i n g s ,
asset values and
vacancy rates.
As we’ve matured, we’ve expanded
our thinking to recognise and reward
social return on investment such as
shared value, improved productivity,
health and wellbeing, and skills
development.
The 30-odd project teams working
with us to achieve Green Star –
Communities ratings, the local
We
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