11 March 2011 – Updated 7 April 2011 – The bar for sustainable construction has just been raised. Australia now has the first scientifically reliable and independently validated database for life cycle assessment of building products and its developers... 
Read More > >

The federal government has promised a tax break program for green buildings worth up to to $1billion. How the program will work in practice may change following a call for public submissions, now closed. Following are details of original proposals for... 
Read More > >

By Lynne Blundell 11 March 2011 –The nuclear power debate was an interesting and provocative inclusion at the Green Cities conference this year. Australia has remained staunchly anti-nuclear for decades while other countries such as France, Germany... 
Read More > >

By Ronald Wood 10 March 2011 – The claims for green plants in buildings are that they help to improve indoor life. From a single plant on a desk, container plants throughout the space, planted foyers, to landscaped atriums and bioclimatic skyscraper... 
Read More > >

19 March 2011 – Award winning architect Nick Murcutt  passed away at his home in Bondi on Thursday night. National president elect Brian Zulaikha sent the following news alert to  Australian Institute of Architects members late Friday: It is with... 
Read More > >

By Leon Gettler 9 March 2011 – The Liberals  in Victoria – and potentially soon in NSW – have both threatened a new wave of urban sprawl, but planners say there is an opportunity for a new planning body to push through urban consolidation. Either... 
Read More > >

3 February 2011 – The fossil fuel industry receives a whacking huge $10 billion a year or more in subsidies. And these subsidies are firm and solid – built into the tax system as automatic deductions or rebates or exemptions for taxpayers, corporate... 
Read More > >

2 March 2011 – The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council this week called  for a federal minister and department for cities and urban development to meet the nation’s urban challenges. Speaking at the Green Cities 2011 conference in... 
Read More > >

1 March  2011 – Federal Independent MP Tony Windsor this week launched new research from the Climate Institute to show regional potential clean energy resources available from carbon pollution pricing and clean energy policies, but outlines pathways... 
Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 25 February 2011 –UPDATED – The Australian Financial Review today said in its editorial that it was time to “stop playing political games” with the carbon price issue., despite the ructions its introduction was bound... 
Read More > >

Michael Green, a speaker at the Green Cities 2011 in Melbourne next week –  dreams of building a skyscraper with wood. Here’s why. 24 February 2011 – From Architecture News – As designers we are all fascinated by architectural precedents,... 
Read More > >

By Lynne Blundell 21 January 2011 – The forestry industry and union have been stirring up controversy on the way Green Star ratings account for timber sustainability certifications. Now we look at the underlying sustainability of timber and how... 
Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 17 February 2011 – According to chief executive of Grosvenor Australia Rob Kerr the five star Green Star and five star NABERS Energy ambitions for Eclipse, the company’s joint venture office tower with Leighton Properties... 
Read More > >

From The Economist: 21 February 2011 – THE planet-wide industrial exhalation of previously fossilised carbon is not the only way that humans are changing the Earth’s climate. There are other greenhouse gases, other atmospheric pollutants, the effects... 
Read More > >

by Lynne Blundell 15 February 2011 – A visit to Hong Kong and China inevitably leads to thoughts of urban planning and the realities of high density living. Lynne Blundell returned from such a trip and has looked at research that challenges the current... 
Read More > >

3 March 2011 –CASE STUDY: The landmark former Optus Building in North Sydney building has achieved a five star NABERS energy rating following its $40 million refurbishment in 2007-2008. The property at 101 Miller Street, owned by Mirvac Funds Limited... 
Read More > >

By Andrew Aitken,  Green Building Council of Australia 9 February 2011 – The Green Building Council of Australia is inviting industry to have its say on the development of a new Green Star assessment methodology to rate the operational performance... 
Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 16 February 2011 – The Total Environment Centre on Wednesday called on government to embrace energy efficiency along with a carbon price, after reports in Fairfax newspapers said some energy efficiency schemes had wasted billions of... 
Read More > >

From Michael Green, The Sydney Morning Herald, Domain: 16 February 2011 – Hundreds of thousands of new homes across the country are not performing at their promised energy efficiency rating. The result is residents are using up to double the predicted... 
Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 17 February 2011 – If you are an infrastructure company with few hundred staff, maybe 500, you may get a call from Chris Cole, founder and chief executive of the giant WSP global engineering group. In 2007, this UK-based company... 
Read More > >

16 February 2011 – Clearwater, an urban water education program comprising project partners Melbourne Water, Municipal Association of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment Victoria, and Environment Protection Authority Victoria, has... 
Read More > >

15 February 2011 – Investa has embarked on a project to unravel the secrets of optimal indoor air temperature by tracking the “shirt-to-jacket” ratio of tenants in three major Sydney CBD buildings. In a post recorded on the company Green... 
Read More > >

By Michael Mobbs 17 February 2011 – Australia’s councils are perhaps the most ignorant and contemptuous of indigenous culture of any part of our society. Councils manifest their damaged psyche unintentionally in their development approvals every... 
Read More > >

16 February 2011 – Lloyd Alter, writing in Treehugger asks an increasingly common question in an article it posted this week: what is a green building? Does inclusion of a feature such as green roof qualify? What if the building required intensive excavation... 
Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 9 February 2011 – Australia is way off course on its hopes to cut greenhouse gas emissions, making a carbon price and other measures essential, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet said Read More >... 
Read More > >

9 February 2011 – The Erina Fair shopping Centre on the NSW Central Coast has installed a world first on-site compost system in its bid to improve sustainable outcomes. According to owners Lend Lease and GPT and manager Australian Prime Property... 
Read More > >

6 April – Case study: Energy management software company BuildingIQ claims it has reduced energy costs by up to 30 per cent daily in total base building energy in a trial during event days in the historic Perth Council House The company said it... 
Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 4 February 2011 – The Australian property industry has the power to radically transform itself and society, both here and overseas, says leading sustainability design consultant, Simon Wild. The key to its success lies in industry... 
Read More > >

By Leon Gettler 3 February 2011 – Adapting to floods, bushfires, and cyclones will not be cheap. Engineers say infrastructure cannot be made totally invulnerable, only resilient. But that will add to the cost. In the wake of extreme weather... 
Read More > >

From CNN: 3 February 2011 – Could a floating dome that can house up to 10,000 people be a model for future living? Russian architect Alexander Remizov thinks so — and his prototype design, called “The Ark,” bears more than a passing... 
Read More > >