Tony Arnel to Chair World Green Building Council

Victoria's Building and Plumbing Industry Commissioner Tony Arnel has been elected Chair of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC).

A founding director and current Chair of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and a member of the WorldGBC Board since 2007, Mr Arnel's election was announced at today's WorldGBC Board meeting in Melbourne, held as part of the Sustainable Building 2008 conference (SB08) taking place at the World Congress Centre from tomorrow until Thursday.

Mr Arnel said it was a great privilege personally and professionally to be appointed to head the world body.

"It is a challenging and exciting time for the WorldGBC, particularly as evidence mounts about the dire consequences of unabated global warming and climate change and the need for urgent and substantive action," Mr Arnel said.

"We know that the built environment has a pivotal role to play in greenhouse gas abatement, and is capable of delivering carbon emission reductions more readily and more cost-effectively than any other sector.

"The WorldGBC and the growing international network of green building councils have as their mission to accelerate the transformation of the built environment towards sustainability."

A business-led coalition, the WorldGBC is leading the movement that is globalising environmentally and socially responsible building practices. Its objective is to rapidly build an international coalition that represents the entire global property industry.

The number of Green Building Councils worldwide is now 20, with the admission today of Argentina and South Africa as full members and The Netherlands, Romania and Spain as emerging members of the WorldGBC. Member nations represent more than 50 per cent of global construction activity and more than 15,000 companies and organisations worldwide.

Mr Arnel said that under his chairmanship, the WorldGBC would continue to provide leadership and act as a global forum to accelerate market transformation from traditional, inefficient building practices to new generation high-performance buildings.

"This is a critical response strategy for cities and countries worldwide to their national and international commitments to reduce carbon emissions and redress other environmental impacts," he said.

Mr Arnel paid tribute to his predecessor, Canadian-based Kevin Hydes, whom he said had guided the organisation through a period of rapid growth and heightened interest in the environmental impact of buildings.

He said the growth and interest in green buildings worldwide was nowhere more evident than in Australia, where the GBCA membership has grown to more than 600 organisations and the number of Green Star certified buildings has gone from zero to 70 in five years.

"It may not be widely known, but as a country we should be proud of the fact that we have the world's second largest green building council, after the USGBC," Mr Arnel said.

"As was the case when fellow Australian Che Wall, was named inaugural Chair of the WorldGBC in 1999, my appointment is really a recognition of Australia's commitment and contribution to green building globally."

For further information, contact:
Lyndon Humphrey
+61 (0)439 895 460

About Tony Arnel

Tony Arnel is Victoria's Building Commissioner and Plumbing Industry Commissioner, making him the Chief Executive of two statutory authorities. He is responsible for the regulation of the State's building and plumbing systems and advises the Minister for Planning in the Victorian Government on all building control and plumbing industry matters.

His industry representations include founding Directorship and current Chair of the Green Building Council of Australia and he was elected to the World Green Building Council Board in 2007. Tony also serves on the board of the Australian Building Codes Board. In the first half of 2008 he retired as the Chairman of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival after serving on the Board for nine years.

He is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, a member of the Planning Institute of Australia and a qualified company director.

Over the past decade Tony has influenced the national sustainability debate relating to the built environment. Major achievements include the delivery of the 5 Star housing energy standards in Victoria, the implementation of new sustainability standards into the national building code, and the accelerated uptake of the Green Star rating system for buildings.