TOOL NAME: HIA Greensmart
OWNED/DEVELOPED BY: Housing Industry Association – “the voice of Australia’s home building industry”.
- Form of the CAT – whether it is a rating tool, strategic framework, guidelines etc. – and capacity to link with other tools.
GreenSmart is an industry-based branding system for identifying & marketing residential projects with a sustainability focus in design, materials and construction practice.
The guidelines for GreenSmart professional training are based on the “Your Home Technical Manual”, a joint initiative of the Australian Government and the design and construction industries.
- Governance/administration of the CAT – its purpose and the organization behind it, the jurisdiction or scale of influence/application.
GreenSmart was established by HIA in 1999 “to promote practical, affordable and durable environmental solutions for residential design and construction”.
Guidelines are voluntary, and can be applied to any new residential development within Australia. HIA runs accreditation training for building industry professionals (by 2008, over 4,000 GreenSmart Professionals accredited), as well as promoting the guidelines through awards, publications, display homes, residential villages and estates.
- Sector or phase of development to which the CAT is applicable – e.g. planning, design, construction – residential, commercial, infrastructure etc. – including capacity to influence urban renewal and retrofitting outcomes.
GreenSmart guidelines apply across aspects of planning, design and construction of new residential development. Limited capacity to extend the knowledge base of industry and consumers of broader sustainability concerns due to focus only on single-building, residential scale.
- Ability to promote systems thinking – how well the CAT encompasses and integrates the component factors and measures of urban sustainability.
Systems-thinking not a feature of the tool.
- Capacity to inform design decisions – how well the CAT is able to derive and test alternative design strategies to inform decision-making.
GreenSmart doesn’t function in this way – more a ‘tick-box’ approach of inclusions which go to make up a ‘sustainable’ design. No ongoing monitoring or evaluation of as-built design performance against predetermined benchmarks or targets.
- Capacity to encourage collaboration – how effectively the CAT integrates input from multiple stakeholders in the context of its implementation and use.
Guidelines based on the “Your Home Technical Manual” – a comprehensive reference guide developed with considerable industry and stakeholder input. Accreditation of projects strictly regulated by HIA and accredited GreenSmart Professionals.
- Adaptability of the CAT to differing local environmental contexts
Guidelines very adaptable within Australia, because they are very general in nature, with case studies to illustrate local variations in context. Adaptation to international contexts would require significant redevelopment of the tool.
- Ability of the CAT to drive innovation in urban planning and development.
Market-based incentive to differentiate product as higher-value “sustainable” design has seen good take-up by industry. Question remains as to how far tool has capacity to push industry towards continuous improvement, however.
- Flexibility of the CAT to adapt and evolve over time to changing understanding and measures of urban sustainability – including review processes and systems for ongoing monitoring, evaluation and reporting of outcomes.
Unclear from available information.
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