Browsing: Built environment

Green-star rated buildings, and those with a high NABERS energy rating, deliver higher returns to their owners than less efficient buildings, according to a study of office buildings in Sydney and Canberra.

• 'Not now' is code for 'not ever', says Combet
  
• Renderer fined $20,000, facing more charges
  
• Ai Group says Queensland could go further in anti-green tape push
  
• Carbon price will have 'negligible' effect on construction sector, consultancy says
  
• Queensland says carbon price will have minor impact
  
• Building professionals surveyed on climate change

• NSW finalises pollution notification review terms after Orica incident
  
• NABERS building rating scheme goes 6-star
  
• Alinta Energy to upgrade Port Hedland gas-fired power plant

• Eight months on, no sign of ministerial meeting
  
• Tribunal rejects bid for top-up clause in groundwater licence
  
• Victoria hands out $3 million for recycling
  
• Tasmania targets large emitters
  
• Don't overlook CO2 benefits of wood products, business leaders urge
  
• National Water Commission under review

• R.M. Williams goes in 'boots and all' on carbon credits
  
• Melbourne City Council opts for low-emissions asphalt
  
• Xstrata seeks approval to double size of NT mine

Federal and state governments have issued a regulatory impact statement on a proposal to mandate disclosure of the energy, greenhouse and water performance of residential properties when they are offered for sale or lease.

Two factors lie behind today's launch of a new alliance of organisations owning almost 60% of Sydney's CBD – the council's ambitious sustainability targets and recognition that efforts to 'green' individual buildings are no longer sufficient.

• NSW solar audit finds major defects in 18.5% of units
  
• NGER data 'a major step forward' for energy statistics
  
• EPA Victoria releases licence monitoring guidelines
  
• Carbon price would drive green building demand, council says

Research by NAB and ClimateWorks on retail sector energy efficiency opportunities concludes retailers could add an extra 3% to 14% to EBIT – but they would need to boost capital expenditure by about 25% to do it.

The Green Building Council plans to integrate all ten Green Star rating tools into a single online tool as part of a major overhaul of its certification process.