August 17, 2009—The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and the Victorian Government’s urban development agency, VicUrban, recently agreed to partner for a national framework to drive the development of sustainable communities and precincts throughout Australia.
A number of developments are being planned around Australia, including VicUrban’s Officer township in Melbourne’s southeast, Frasers Broadway, Macquarie University and Barangaroo in Sydney, CUB in Melbourne, and Eastlake in the ACT.
Both the GBCA and VicUrban agree that while government regulation can play an important role in mandating higher standards for some aspects of urban development, optimal outcomes can only be achieved through partnership, industry leadership and informed consumer choices.
The Council of Australian Governments also recently released a National Strategy on Energy Efficiency to accelerate energy efficiency efforts, streamline roles and responsibilities across levels of governments, and help households and businesses prepare for the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
