Green Star is a voluntary environmental rating system for buildings in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It was launched in 2003 by the Green Building Council of Australia

Green Building Council of Australia

The Green Building Council of Australia was established in 2002 with the mission to "develop a sustainable property industry in Australia and drive the adoption of green building practices"....

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The system considers a broad range of practices for reducing the environmental impact of buildings and to showcase innovation in sustainable building practices, while also considering occupant health and productivity and cost savings.

Rating system

Nine categories are assessed with the Green Star tools: management, indoor environment quality, energy, transport, water, materials, land use & ecology, emissions, innovation.

The resulting score is translated into "Green Stars" as follows:

• score 45-59: 4 Star Green Star, signifies 'Best Practice' in environmentally sustainable design and/or construction
• score 60-74: 5 Star Green Star, signifies 'Australian Excellence'
• score 75-100: 6 Star Green Star, signifies 'World Leadership'

Controversy

There has been controversy over a proposal to expand the Forest Certification of timber and composite timber products. There has also been concern over various aspects of the timeframe for awarding of the certification, transfer of properties once awarded, and termination rights.