Property Council of Australia has joined the Global Cooksafe Coalition (GCC), marking the peak industry body’s support for electrification of kitchens in commercial and residential buildings across the country.
The GCC promotes fossil fuel-free cooking on energy-efficient electric appliances powered by rapidly decarbonising grids or distributed renewable energy.
The Property Council represents 2,300 member companies across the property sector and prioritises sustainability in the built environment.
According to the GCC’s Australia program manager Virginia Jones, the addition of the Property Council to the coalition clearly demonstrates how industry is moving towards electrification as the most effective path to net-zero.
“We know that around one quarter of the country’s emissions come from the built environment, so we look forward to working with the Property Council, and our other founding partner, the Green Building Council of Australia, to promote our shared priorities,” Jones says.
Joining the GCC reflects the Property Council’s longstanding policy position of supporting a nationally harmonised approach to phase out fossil fuel gas in buildings and appliances, Property Council of Australia chief executive Mike Zorbas says.
“If we drive down our reliance on gas, we meet our emissions targets and make all Australian homes cheaper to run,” Zorbas says.
“As outlined in our Every Building Counts policy platform, we need policies now to support the widespread adoption of electric appliances, which are readily available, supported by incentives that will help achieve a fair and equitable transition to a cleaner built environment.
“Every new building with gas will require a costly retrofit sooner rather than later. The National Construction Code 2025 should be clear – new buildings are all-electric with a plan in place for a managed phase out of fossil gas in existing buildings and appliances,” he says.
To achieve their goal of total electrification of kitchens in the building sector, the GCC brings together property companies, world-renowned chefs, government supporters and public health and climate experts who advocate transitioning away from cooking with fossil fuels towards healthier, more affordable and more sustainable kitchens – powered by renewable energy.
The GCC’s partners and members include Cbus Property, GPT, Frasers, Lendlease, Scape and Grosvenor Property UK, who have committed to phasing out gas in new kitchens in their developments by 2030 and retrofitting existing kitchens to be fossil fuel-free by 2040.
Image source: https://cooksafecoalition.org/
