ABSTRACT
Considerable effort has gone into regulating for improved environmental performance of the approximately 150,000 new residential dwellings built each year in Australia, mainly in urban areas. However, there has been relatively little attention to strategies to systematically improve the environmental performance of the existing 7.5 million residential dwellings. Energy and water use and the environmental impacts associated with the production, use and disposal of materials used to build homes are key sustainability concerns. Given that environmental sustainability is high on government agendas – enshrined in policy at national, State and local levels – it follows that such issues should be addressed and appropriate measures incorporated into housing improvements.
