Posted 8 September 2014 - 10:58am
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC)* and Australia’s leading organisation working towards building sustainable communities – the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL) – have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to take a global step towards defining ‘low’ to ‘no’ carbon cities in our world.
The three year CRCLCL ‘Closing the Loop’ project – supported by leading industry partners Brookfield Multiplex, HASSELL and AECOM – will connect a wealth of existing evidence with front-end decision makers through better business case analysis, professional education, practical tools and guidelines.
“’Closing the Loop’ will help global industries create built environments to positively impact people’s health, wellbeing and productivity whilst improving the building industry’s environmental performance,” CRCL Chief Executive Officer, Scientia Professor Deo Prasad AO, said of the signing.
“Collaborating with the World Green Building Council provides our project team with a unique opportunity to tap into the global leadership and significant knowledge that already exists throughout the world, thanks to the Council.”
The WorldGBC will support the CRCLCL by designating staff to help coordinate the project, opening an ongoing dialogue with the CRC, identifying overlaps and areas for future collaboration. This will provide information for reports, materials and promoting collateral within the global building community.
‘Closing the Loop’ members have been involved in WorldGBC’s ‘Health Wellbeing and Productivity in Offices’ report, through participation in the project Technical Committee and by providing ongoing dialogue, content review and feedback on proposed metrics, whilst helping to promote the report’s findings.
“With up to 90 per cent of a company’s costs spent on salaries and benefits, even modest improvements to staff health and productivity can have a dramatic impact on organisational profitability. ‘Closing the Loop’ will enhance our understanding of the health, wellbeing and productivity implications of building design so that we can create environments that positively encourage health and wellbeing and stimulate productivity,” the WorldGBC’s Chief Executive, Jane Henley concluded.