Background

Australia’s National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD), endorsed by all Australian jurisdictions in 1992, defines the goal of ESD as:

“… using, conserving and enhancing the community's resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be increased.”

It requires changes in the nature of production and consumption so that they can better satisfy human needs while using fewer raw materials and producing less waste. The key to ESD is integrating environment and development considerations in decision-making.

The Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s major piece of environmental legislation. It streamlines national environmental assessment and approval processes and contains requirements that Australian Government agencies report on how they are addressing the challenges of ESD. Section 516a of the EPBC Act requires Commonwealth organisations, such as Defence, to include in their Annual Reports a section detailing the environmental performance of the organisation and the organisation’s contribution to ESD.

In responding to this Defence’s environmental vision is to be:

“… a leader in sustainable environmental management to support the ADF's capability to defend Australia and its national interests.”

Defence is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its land, building and infrastructure assets, which form the largest property portfolio in the Commonwealth. The Defence ESD Strategy defines one of Defence’s strategic initiatives as:

“Integrate ESD into the built environment, including development of new facilities and refurbishment of older properties by establishing specific ESD principles and guidelines.”

The Defence Green Building Requirements provide the principles, processes and guidelines to deliver on this component of the ESD Strategy.

 Defence ESD Goals for Buildings

The ESD goals for Defence are defined in the Defence ESD Strategy. This confirms that “Defence is committed to pursuing the application of ESD principles in its built environment, including development of new facilities and refurbishment of older properties.”

The key ESD goals for Defence’s buildings can be summarised as the provision of healthy internal and external environments for Defence’s customers, staff and contractors and reducing the whole-of-life environmental impacts of buildings, including:

It is also a requirement that the ESD performance is adequately monitored and reported during the whole-of-life cycle (i.e. during design, construction and operation stages).

The Defence ESD Strategy also recognises the importance of addressing ESD principles and a whole-of-life approach during all phases of asset development, and also the need to balance ESD goals with other Defence requirements.

 Benefits of Green Buildings

The potential benefits to Defence of building, operating and/or leasing Green Buildings include:

Implementing the Green Building Requirements provides Defence with the opportunity to demonstrate environmental leadership in the design, procurement and operation of green buildings. Defence also has the potential to play a key role in assisting the development of new and smarter building technologies, and, through its procurement / leasing decisions, to increase the sustainability skills / experience of the Australian building industry. These can have far reaching benefits which transcend the Defence portfolio.