eNewsletter
New Green Star rating tools have been created to enable four companies, including McDonald’s, to gain Green Star certification for their building projects.
A supermarket, restaurant, mixed-use development and a retirement village have all gained Green Star ratings, following arrangements with the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), which operates the Green Star rating tools system.
“Four companies – Coles, McDonald’s, Stockland and Rock Development Group – have been working with us to develop special Green Star – Custom tools to rate projects outside the scope of the current Green Star system,” says the GBCA’s chief executive Romilly Madew.
“We are very excited to announce that the first custom-built Green Star rating tools have been approved by the GBCA.
“These four companies now have exclusive use of their Green Star – Custom tools, and will be registering projects to achieve Green Star ratings.
Since 2003, the GBCA has released environmental rating tools to rate the design and construction of sustainable office buildings and fitouts, retail centres, schools, universities and hospitals, multi-unit residential dwellings, public buildings and industrial facilities.
“I commend these [four] companies for having the vision and commitment to support the development of these revolutionary new rating tools,” Madew says. “They are setting new benchmarks for sustainability in their sectors.
“Now that their Green Star rating tools have been approved, we can expect to see Green Star-rated McDonald’s restaurants, Coles supermarkets, Stockland retirement villages and mixed-use developments like loop in Canberra in the near future.
GREEN STAR – CUSTOM
Michael Dimech, director of Workplace Safety, Design & Supply for McDonald’s Australia, says, “We are thrilled to have developed our Green Star – Custom rating tool with the Green Building Council of Australia and are looking forward to gaining Green Star certification. We constantly strive to be an environmentally responsible business and this is the latest step in our journey towards environmental sustainability.”
Similarly, Coles property director Greg Chubb says Coles was pleased to be the first Australian supermarket chain to develop a Green Star rating tool.
“For a number of years now, Coles has been working to reduce store energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions through better technologies and store design. Our new Green Star rating tool will help us formalise, measure and benchmark our energy reduction initiatives across our store network,” he says.