We're proud to share that the Sustainable BuildersAlliance has been accepted as a voting member of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC).
This is a milestone for SBA and for our whole community. ASBEC is where the built environment sector's peak bodies come together to shape research, policy and advocacy. Joining gives us a seat at that table, and a way to bring the real-world experience of our members into conversations that influence how Australia builds.
Who is ASBEC?
ASBEC is a collaborative forum of peak bodies in Australia's built environment. Its members are industry associations, professional bodies and not-for-profits, joined by government and academic observers, all involved in planning, designing, delivering and operating our buildings, infrastructure and cities.
ASBEC's work combines research, policy development and advocacy. Highlights from its track record include:
- Growing the Market for Sustainable Homes, an industry-led transition pathway towards more sustainable, healthy and resilient homes.
- Low Carbon, High Performance and Built to Perform, reports which, according to ASBEC, informed the COAG Energy Council's Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings and the strengthening of energy efficiency provisions in the National Construction Code.
- Technical and economic research identifying electrification as the lowest cost, fastest pathway to cutting emissions from Australia's built environment.
- A policy framework for tackling embodied carbon, and a policy response to the Building Confidence recommendations.
ASBEC's 2026-2030 Strategic Plan focuses on three priorities: accelerating decarbonisation, enhancing resilience and adaptation to climate change risk, and transitioning towards a circular economy. These are supported by enablers including skills and capability, technology and innovation, and better regulation, codes and standards. Each of these lines up closely with what SBA members are already doing on the ground.
A community of like-minded organisations
ASBEC brings together close to 40 voting member organisations and more than 20 government and academic observers. Many will be familiar to our community, including the Australian Passivhaus Association, Renew, the Australian Institute of Architects, the Building Designers Association of Australia, the Green Building Council of Australia and prefabAUS.
These organisations represent different professions and parts of the industry, but they share a commitment to a more sustainable built environment. ASBEC develops its policy positions through member consensus, so the strength of the forum comes from different perspectives working towards common ground. That is a way of working SBA knows well: our own community of builders, designers, architects, trades and suppliers achieves the most when we collaborate.
A seat at the big table
ASBEC is where industry, government and academia meet. Its observer members include the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, CSIRO, NABERS, Infrastructure Australia, state government agencies and capital city councils. ASBEC's research and submissions are regularly put to governments and their inquiries and reviews.
As a voting member, SBA can now take part in ASBEC's Council meetings, held in person three times a year, its quarterly online Policy Forums, and its working groups and research. Most importantly, we can help shape the consensus positions that ASBEC takes to decision makers. It puts the experience of our members in the room where sector-wide positions on homes, energy and emissions are formed.
Bringing the builder's voice, and the whole project team's
Until now, residential builders have had limited representation in this forum. Neither the Housing Industry Association nor Master Builders Australia is currently an ASBEC member. Yet builders are where policy meets the slab, the frame and the finished home, and where the practical challenges and the practical solutions show up first.
SBA's role is to make sure that perspective is heard. Our members are builders who are already doing the right thing by the environment, working alongside architects, building designers, energy assessors, trades and suppliers who share the same goals. Together, you are proving every day that net zero, low impact, durable homes can be delivered, on real sites, for real clients, at real budgets.
Those are the examples decision makers need to see. By sharing what is working, and being honest about what is getting in the way, we can help make better building practices the standard across Australia rather than the exception.
What happens next
SBA will be taking part in ASBEC's Council meetings and Policy Forums, and contributing to the work that aligns with our community's priorities. We'll keep you updated on the issues we're engaging with and what we're learning along the way.
The value we bring depends on the stories and evidence you share with us. If you have a project, a result or a lesson learned that shows what is possible, or a barrier that is holding you back, we want to hear about it. Get in touch with theSBA team.
Thank you to ASBEC for welcoming us. We're looking forward to working with its members towards a sustainable, productive and resilient built environment for all Australians.
