The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has launched Green Star Fitouts, a national rating tool designed to reduce carbon and waste in commercial interiors, with the first certification awarded to a Dexus-led project for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

Green Star Fitouts is the first tool in Australia to embed circularity as a core requirement, promoting interiors designed for reuse and reconfiguration rather than demolition at lease end. The certified project applies Dexus’s modular Forever Fitout approach, demonstrating how fitouts can be sustainable, flexible and commercially viable.

Key insights from GBCA and Dexus:

• Fitouts account for around 32% of a building’s lifecycle carbon and can generate over 360 tonnes of waste per office fitout.
• Modular, reusable systems like Forever Fitout significantly reduce carbon embedded in traditional strip-outs, typically around 200kg per square metre.
• The rating tool encourages reuse, adaptability and design for disassembly, giving tenants and investors confidence in long-term environmental and commercial value.

“Fitouts are a major missed opportunity to cut carbon and waste. Green Star Fitouts embeds circularity from day one, showing that sustainable interiors are achievable today,” GBCA chief executive Davina Rooney says.

Green Star Fitouts also addresses health, productivity and occupant experience, measuring factors such as air quality, lighting, acoustics and thermal comfort, reinforcing the broader value of sustainable, well-designed workplaces.

“Forever Fitout demonstrates that circular interiors can be delivered at scale without compromising quality or commercial outcomes, reducing both environmental impact and delivery timelines,” Dexus executive general manager of office Andy Collins says.

The Early Access Program allowed Dexus and partners like Woods Bagot to test the tool on real projects for practical, measurable outcomes for the industry.