July 22, 2024

Elevating ESD Targets Planning Amendment – Launching Industry Partnership Program on 2-year anniversary

CASBE councils continue to lead with action on sustainable planning, marking a significant milestone for their Elevating ESD Targets planning amendment. 

On 21 July 2022, 24 Victorian councils submitted a planning scheme amendment, known as the Elevating ESD Targets Planning Amendment, to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (now the Department of Transport and Planning). This amendment sought to establish elevated sustainability standards for buildings across the state. 

Despite councils still waiting authorisation of the amendment, significant policy reforms have recently emerged, including the Victorian government’s mandate for all new housing requiring a planning permit to be all-electric, the state’s ESD reforms under amendment VC216, and the National Construction Code’s seven-star energy efficiency requirements for housing. These reforms address some of the proposed Elevating ESD Targets standards.

To maintain their leadership and drive progress on sustainable building practices, the CASBE councils have now published the proposed Elevating ESD Targets objectives and standards online. These standards were originally submitted in 2022 as part of their planning scheme amendment and are now available for interested parties from the local government and development sector. 

A recent review found that some of the proposed standards have been addressed by recent policy and legislative reform. 

We invite development applicants with projects aiming for exemplary ESD outcomes to demonstrate the proposed standards are achievable and help to set a new benchmark for sustainable development. This invitation is not a new mandatory requirement, but an opportunity for industry to showcase leading examples of sustainability and test some of the proposed standards.

For more information, please visit the CASBE website: https://www.casbe.org.au/elevating-esd-targets/ 

We invite development applicants with projects aiming for exemplary ESD outcomes to demonstrate the proposed standards are achievable and help to set a new benchmark for sustainable development.

This invitation is not a new mandatory requirement, but an opportunity for industry to showcase leading examples of sustainability and test some of the proposed standards.

For more information, please visit the CASBE website: https://www.casbe.org.au/elevating-esd-targets/