Our Strategy

ASBEC is active in developing and pursuing practical responses to achieve sustainability across all elements of the built environment, informed by our Strategic Plan.

ASBEC members and Task Groups are currently focussed on:

  • Sustainable, decarbonised communities — An integrated, sustainable and climate resilient built environment (including natural, social and economic infrastructure)
  • Effective regulation, codes and standards — Improving and enforcing energy efficiency and resilience requirements in national and state/territory regulations
  • Improving our existing building stock — Ensuring all Australians have healthy and comfortable homes, offices and buildings that support Australia’s achievement of net zero

All members are invited to participate in ASBEC Task Groups.

Task Groups in place are:

  • Sustainable, decarbonised communities

The focus of this Task Group will be high level assessment of sectoral sustainability needs, research to support a future state of energy efficient buildings running on renewable energy, and collaborative advocacy to champion the built environment’s role towards meeting Australia’s emissions abatement targets.

This Task Group builds on work led by ASBEC’s former Net Zero Buildings, and Energy & Emissions Task Groups, including Low Carbon High Performance (2016), Every Building Counts (2019), Smart energy management in government operations (2021) and Unlocking the Pathway: Why electrification is the key to net zero buildings (2022). It also builds on work undertaken by ASBEC’s former Urban Resilience and Cities and Infrastructure Task Groups, including Bang for Buck – delivering better business cases to realise more value from our infrastructure investments (2017), Thriving Cities (2019) and Reshaping Infrastructure for a net zero emissions future (2020).

The Infrastructure Net Zero initiative is also transitioning into this task group. Infrastructure Net Zero aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of Australia’s infrastructure through collective action so that it meets or exceeds our national targets of 43% by 2030 and Net Zero by 2050. Led through collaboration with:

  • Australian Constructors Association
  • Australasian Railway Association
  • Clean Energy Finance Corporation
  • Consult Australia
  • Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
  • Engineers Australia
  • Green Building Council of Australia
  • Infrastructure Australia
  • Infrastructure Partnerships Australia
  • Infrastructure Sustainability Council
  • Roads Australia
  • Effective regulation, codes and standards

The focus of this Task Group is on advocating for sensible evidence-based energy efficiency standards, along with a forward trajectory for future standards for buildings, equipment and appliances.

This Task Group builds on work undertaken by ASBEC’s former Building Quality and Building Code Task Groups, including Built to Perform: An Industry Led Pathway to a Zero Carbon Ready Building Code (2018), The Bottom Line – household impacts of delaying improved energy requirements in the Building Code (2018), and ASBEC’s Building Confidence Policy Response (2020).

  • Improving our existing building stock

The focus of this Task Group is to collaborate with a range of organisations, advocating for robust government policies and programs to improve the sustainability of our existing buildings.

This Task Group builds on work undertaken by the Sustainable Housing Task group, including National Framework for Residential Ratings (2016), Growing the Market for Sustainable Homes (2019) and Tomorrow’s Homes: A policy framework to transition to sustainable homes for all Australians (2020).

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Past activities from previous Strategic Plans have included research and policy development in the following areas:

  • Realising the economic benefits of better building energy efficiency, by implementing a policy roadmap to significantly cut carbon emissions and improve energy productivity.
  • Improving the long-term productivity, liveability and sustainability of cities, urban communities and their underpinning infrastructure.
  • Driving demand for more sustainable, liveable and innovative residential development and housing.
  • Supporting a transition towards net zero buildings.
  • Growing the market for sustainable housing across all typologies and sectors.
  • Improving and enforcing energy efficiency requirements in the Building Code.
  • Integrated sustainable and climate resilient economic and social infrastructure.