What is Green Star?
Green star is a national rating tool that delivers real benefits by setting a common definition of ‘green’ across a comprehensive set of environmental criteria so that the merits of a green building can be easily understood, measured and promoted across a level playing field.
Green Star encompasses a buildings attributes such as materials selection to indoor air quality, from water efficiency to waste avoidance, re-use and recycling.

What are the Green Star Ratings?
Green star uses six stars to measure performance, with 4 stars recognising industry best practice, 5 stars recognising Australian excellence and 6 stars recognising international leadership.
What does Green Star measure?
Green Star measures the attributes of a building based on 9 rating categories.  These are:

Management
Credits address the adoption of sustainable development principles from project conception through design, construction, commissioning, tuning and operation.     IEQ
Credits target environmental impact along with occupant wellbeing and performance by addressing the HVAC system, lighting, occupant comfort and pollutants.

Energy
Credits target reduction of greenhouse emissions from building operation by addressing energy demand reduction, use efficiency, and generation from alternative sources.
   
Transport
Credits reward the reduction of demand for individual cars by both discouraging car commuting and encouraging use of alternative transportation.

Water
Credits address reduction of potable water through efficient design of building services, water reuse and substitution with other water sources (specifically rainwater). 
  
Materials
Credits targets resource consumption through material selection, reuse initiatives and efficient management practices.

Land Use & Ecology
Credits address a project's impact on its immediate ecosystem, by discouraging degradation and encouraging restoration of flora and fauna.    

Emissions
Credits address point source pollution from buildings & building services to the atmosphere, watercourse, and local ecosystems.

Innovation
Green Star seeks to reward marketplace innovation that fosters the industry's transition to sustainable building.

What is the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA)?
The Green Building Council of Australia is a national not-for-profit property industry initiative with a broad membership base representing all segments of the property industry including developers and building design professionals, as well as government, professional societies and universities.  It aims to define and develop an environmentally sustainable property industry for Australia and to promote green building practices in all aspects of building, from design (structural and interior) to construction to ongoing building maintenance.