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Environmentally Sustainable Buildings

Buildings, throughout their life cycle, from construction through use to demolition, have a significant impact on both the natural and the built environments. The design of a building; the method of its construction and the materials used; how the building is maintained and how we, as members of the community, use the building; and the fate of the building at the end of its economic life will all affect the way in which the building impacts on both the greater natural environment and the immediate built environment within which the building sits.

The Department of Public Works has been actively working with other government agencies to reduce the environmental impacts of new building projects, the refurbishment of buildings and the ongoing routine operation of government buildings. In doing so, the Department’s goal is to optimise the economic viability of the project taking into account both building costs and whole-of-life costs, maximising the social amenity of the building for both its users and the community in general, and minimising the environmental impacts of the building and its users.

In addition to issues such as minimisation of a building’s carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions, and electricity and water consumption, the Department of Public Works is actively involved in research, and policy development and implementation, in such areas as the recycling and re-use of materials in building construction and civil infrastructure projects; the use of timber from sustainable sources; indoor air quality guidelines and standards; the prediction of building component life spans, and the development of new building environmental rating tools (in collaboration with the Green Building Council Australia). These are just some examples from within the broad range of initiatives being undertaken by Public Works as it continues to strive for a built environment that is in harmony with the natural world.