Green Construction and Construction and Demolition Waste Management in Australia

The construction industry has faced issues regarding the proper management of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste in Australia. As enshrined in many Australian waste strategy documents, waste is everyone’s responsibility. Therefore, initiatives promoting the concept of shared responsibility are being paid attention in more recent waste managed system and policies. Green Construction (GC) is one of these concepts that, alongside other focus areas, advocate effective C&D waste in construction projects. GC for C&D waste is mainly implemented through the Green Star (GS) scheme (Green Building Council of Australia) and the Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) scheme (Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia). This study sought to better understand how these two rating systems are being implemented and could benefit the construction and resource recovery industries. In this study, the review of relevant literature including industry and organisational reports, guidelines and academic papers could provide insight into the position of GS in Australian jurisdictions. In total 7 case study reports were found to show positive results achieved by the application of IS and GS. The limited number of case reports, however, presents a limitation as to reaching a definitive conclusion on the benefits of GC programs. Hence, it is highly recommended that future research is undertaken to demonstrate GC programs’ capacity in the effective management of C&D waste in a diverse range of construction projects. The results may inform policy development and encourage construction and waste recovery industries to adopt best management practices enshrined in these schemes.