We're working to make net zero sustainable homes the standard, not the exception. As a social enterprise, we bring together builders, architects and industry professionals committed to building better.
The homes we build today shape how Australians live for decades to come. They affect our energy bills, comfort, health, resilience to extreme weather, and the environmental footprint we leave behind. Yet many homes continue to underperform in ways that cost both people and the planet. We already have the know-how and technology to fix it — what's missing is widespread adoption.
We want these homes to be widely adopted, accessible and affordable to all. They should be considered the standard by builders, buyers, regulators and communities alike.
'Sustainable' is one of the most overused words in construction. For us, it means something specific. A truly sustainable home goes beyond energy performance. It considers the materials used to build it, the health of the people who live in it, its resilience to a changing climate, and its impact on the natural world.
Five areas of work, each tackling a key barrier between where the industry is today and where it needs to be.
The Sustainable Builders Alliance began with a simple question from Australian Architects Declare back in 2020: could builders come together to create their own movement for change? We put the call out for builders who genuinely cared about building better and protecting the future for the next generation. A handful answered. After a couple of beers and plenty of honest conversation, Builders Declare Australia was born — with no grand masterplan, just a shared belief that the construction industry could and should do better.
Over the following years, through lockdowns, industry uncertainty and countless meetings, the founding group worked to transform passion into practical impact. As builders ourselves, we knew good intentions alone would not cut it. The industry needed real outcomes, not empty promises. That process led to the creation of the Sustainable Builders Alliance — a community focused on giving builders and other industry professionals the knowledge, tools and support to deliver more sustainable, high-performing homes and help drive meaningful change across the industry.
