GPT awarded first Green Star Performance rating

GPT awarded first Green Star – Performance ratingThe first Green Star – Performance rating has been awarded to GPT Group for 800 Bourke Street, Melbourne. The building has demonstrated it meets best-practice benchmarks for sustainable building operations.Green Star – Performance assesses the operational performance of buildings and gives building owners and managers the opportunity to make informed decisions about how to reduce the environmental impacts of their assets. The Green Star – Performance ratings range from 1 star (equating to ‘Minimum Practice’) to 6 stars (‘World Leadership’).800 Bourke Street, fully tenanted by National Australia Bank (NAB), has achieved a 4 Star Green Star – Performance rating, representing best practice in sustainable building operations.According to Romilly Madew, chief executive of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), “Gaining the first Green Star – Performance rating is the result of exceptional collaboration between a building owner and a tenant, and GPT Group and NAB now have independent, third-party proof that 800 Bourke Street meets best-practice benchmarks for sustainable operations.” She added that 800 Bourke Street was designed and constructed before the Green Star rating system was widely known, meaning the 4 Star Green Star – Performance rating will assist the building to hold its value.GPT Group has collaborated with NAB to deliver a number of improvements across 800 Bourke Street’s operations, including a 29 per cent reduction in the building’s energy consumption over the past two years.Matthew Faddy, GPT’s head of asset management, said the 4 Star Green Star – Performance rating provides the group with a sustainability measurement to allow it to assess the performance of its assets. “Not only does it allow us to benchmark our assets with those of our peers, it also assists us to drive consistent sustainable outcomes across the business,” he said.Madew said it’s important that organisations make good on their pronouncements about the importance of sustainable building operations.”It’s no longer enough to say your company operates responsibly and sustainably,” she said. “Employees, customers and the wider community increasingly demand that organisations walk the talk.”For more, visit: www.gbca.org.au/performance