Sustainable housing: the Australian experience

Abstract: The housing sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts in most countries. With increase in population this problem is bound to be of importance and further reinforced by increasing desire for higher levels of affluence. It is also amenable to low cost clever design approaches to deal with the problems as well as the use of emerging technologies which help with localized energy capture on site. Most OECD countries are on path with regulations and standards for sustainable approaches to design but the real success may lie in market driven innovations. This is now increasingly evident. In Australia there have not been any regulations for this but now after the Olympics there is clear evidence of a market drive for sustainable housing. The Olympics projects were driven with a green commitment but now other developments are increasingly considering sustainability as a part of their marketing strategy. The requirements for energy performance ratings for space heating and cooling, appliances, water heaters and water and waste management strategies, materials selection for low impact together with subsidies for use of photovoltaic technologies is creating demand and awareness for a sustainable approach. This is also making way for building energy code to be introduced without much resistance. This paper presents Australian case studies and approaches to sustainability in the housing sector and draw parallels with Italy.