In Part 1 of the University climate change leadership series, we highlighted the ambitious renewable energy and carbon-neutral commitments of leading universities across Australia.

With the built environment accounting for a large part of a university’s carbon footprint, building efficiency is an important part of any carbon management strategy. For new buildings, in particular, aiming for and achieving Green Star certification is increasingly important.

What is Green Star?

Green Star is a voluntary sustainability rating system for buildings and communities in Australia. It was launched in 2003 by the Green Building Council of Australia.

The Green Star rating system assesses a project’s sustainability across its life cycle and aims to encourage leadership in environmentally sustainable design and construction, innovative sustainable designs, and to highlight cost savings, health and productivity benefits of sustainable buildings.

There are four Green Star ratings:

• Green Star – Communities (for precinct-scale developments),
• Green Star – Design & As Built (design and construction of a building),
• Green Star – Interiors (interior fit-out of a building),
• Green Star – Performance (operational performance of a building).

Buildings that have been registered with Green Star cannot use the Green Star certification mark until the project is certified, but they can be listed as a registered project.

There are three Green Star rating scales for the first three of these categories:

• 4 Star – Australian Best Practice
• 5 Star – Australian Excellence
• 6 Star – World Leadership

Buildings assessed against the Green Star – Performance rating tool are given a Green Star rating from 1 to 6 stars. For more information, go to https://new.gbca.org.au/.

Universities with Green Star certifications

Below is a list of universities in Australia which are Green Star Certified and Registered as at January 2020. All Green Star certified ratings are valid for a restricted period, except As Built certified ratings which do not expire.

The first 6 Star – Communities rating to be awarded to an Australian University is the University of Melbourne’s Parkville Campus, recognising world leadership in sustainable master planning.

No	State	University				Registered
1	VIC	Monash University	1 (Design) and 1 (As Built) **	1 (Design) and 1 (As Built) ** 2 (Design) 3 (As Built)		1
2	VIC	University of Melbourne	1 (Design) 1 (Communities)	5 (Design) 1 (Design & As Built)		5
3	NSW	Western Sydney University	1 (Design) and 1 (As Built) **	3 (Design) 2 (As Built)	1 (Design)
4	VIC	RMIT University		5 (Design) 1 (Interior)	1 (Design)	1
5	NSW	University of Technology, Sydney	1 (Design) and 1 (As Built) ** 1 (Interior)	2 (Design) 1 (As Built)
6	VIC	La Trobe University		5 (Design)		1
7	SA	University of South Australia		1 (Design) and 1 (As Built) ** 2 (Design) 1 (As Built)
8	TAS	University of Tasmania	1 (Design & As Built)	2 (Design)		2
9	WA	Curtin University	1 (Interior)	1 (Design) 1 (Communities)		3
10	ACT	Australian National University	1 (Design) and 1 (As Built) **	1 (Design)
11	NSW	Australian Catholic University	1 (Design) and 1 (As Built) **	1 (As Built)
12	QLD	University of Queensland	1 (Design) and 1 (As Built) **	1 (Design)
13	QLD	Queensland University of Technology		1 (Design) and 1 (As Built) ** 1 (Design)		1
14	NSW	Macquarie University		1 (Design) and 1 (As Built) **		3
15	NSW	University of Newcastle		1 (Design)	1 (Design)	1
16	SA	University of Adelaide	1 (Design) 1 (As Built)
17	NSW	Charles Sturt University	1 (Design)	1 (Design)
18	VIC	Victoria University	1 (Design)	1 (Design)
19	NSW	University of Wollongong	1 (Design)		1 (Design)
20	NSW	University of New South Wales	1 (Design)
21	QLD	Griffith University	1 (Design)
22	QLD	Bond University	1 (Design)
23	SA	Flinders University	1 (Communities)
24	QLD	University of Southern Queensland		1 (Design)
25	ACT	University of Canberra		1 (Design)
26	VIC	Swinburne University of Technology		1 (Design)
27	NT	Charles Darwin University			1 (Design)
28	NSW	University of Sydney				1

**Ratings apply to the same building

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