This document is a component of the CRC for Low Carbon Living Closing the Loop project. It provides an overview of existing data around building energy performance in Australia to guide the selection of building typologies to be included into the research. This document also outlines key stakeholders in the property sector, and major trends amongst owners and tenants.

A high performance building is designed and operated to minimise environmental impact whilst providing an indoor environment that maximises occupant health and comfort. The wealth of academic research into technical and non-technical solutions for high performance building continues to grow. However, industry utilisation of academic research is limited and inconsistent due to a number of factors. This situation is compounded by academics using a broad range of methodologies, which prevents a consistent and widely accepted body of knowledge being developed.

The following report presents the results of research conducted on how to best deliver low carbon, high performance schools in the Australian context.The term ‘high performance’ was used to reflect the increased performance in both the buildings and physical infrastructure of schools that pursue sustainability, as well as improved academic performance due to the increased health and productivit

This paper is to inform the second stage of project development for the Closing The Loop project. The foundation for the project direction was established in the first paper ‘Closing the Loop, Evidence-Based Design and Systematic Review. This paper will cover:

A high performance building is designed and operated to minimise environmental impact whilst providing an indoor environment that maximises occupant health and comfort. The wealth of academic research into technical and non-technical solutions for high performance building continues to grow. However, industry utilisation of academic research is limited and inconsistent...

The Closing the Loop project through its large-scale systematic review of existing evidence on green building will help to synthesize the complex array of existing research. It will also investigate evidence-based decision-making processes to assist teams to integrate key evidence into decision-making and help build sustainability into projects.