The Metrics-laden Path to Green Star Ratings

Empower sustainable specification with Billi’s Quadra and Quadra Plus.
Featuring high RPV scores and robust Green Star Fitouts compatibility, these systems simplify achieving credits across key categories – helping specifiers meet targets and advance Australia’s transition to a greener built environment.

The pursuit of a sustainable built environment is a journey driven by uncompromising vision, unwavering commitment and bold action. Yet, the milestones along the way are not marked by lofty ideals alone – they’re punctuated by the tangible reality of numbers, documents and meticulously measured metrics. This is especially true when navigating the complexities of sustainability certifications and ratings – but the sheer volume of data associated with specified materials and products can feel particularly overwhelming.
And so, with the new Green Star Fitouts rating tool’s launch as a backdrop, we explore how specifiers can strategically consider product selection to achieve tangible results within the established frameworks used today and – through the lens of Billi’s Quadra and Quadra Plus systems – answer a fundamental question: why are product sustainability metrics essential in facilitating this process?

ACHIEVING CREDITS THROUGH SUSTAINABLE SPECIFICATION

Industry professionals will be familiar with the Green Star Buildings rating tool, a fundamental device on the path to Green Star certification. And now, sharing the same methodology, the Green Star Fitouts rating tool is set to roll out, evolving its Green Star Interiors counterpart and raising the bar on carbon, well-being and circularity.
The tool is set to provide a framework to achieve a rating by accumulating credits across five different categories: Circular, Responsible, Healthy, Positive and People. It will set out specific criteria to assess whether – and how well – a project is meeting the credit outcome, falling into one of the performance levels: Minimum Expectation, Credit Achievement and Exceptional Performance.

THE VALUE OF THE RESPONSIBLE PRODUCT VALUE (RPV)

Architects, designers and specifiers will need to demonstrate that the products they specify meet outlined sustainability benchmarks, and a crucial mechanism that will help them assess a product’s contribution to the credits will be the Responsible Product Value (RPV).
An RPV is calculated based on an initiative’s ability to meet criteria that sit across the Responsible, Positive, Healthy and Circular categories. Each of these carries a fixed-point value, and their sum amounts to the product’s total RPV.

HIGHER RPV, HIGHER POTENTIAL: THE QUADRA EXAMPLE

Specifying products with an RPV may contribute towards achieving the Responsible products credits and Billi’s Quadra and Quadra Plus systems – with an RPV of 16 – are an excellent showcase of that methodology. Their RPV score is based on their Global GreenTag product-specific EPDs – worth five points – and their Global GreenTag LCARate Gold certification – which is worth 11 points.

THE GREEN STAR RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTS FRAMEWORK

While the Fitouts tool is yet to be rolled out, the mechanism for assessing products against these categories is already well-established in the Green Star Buildings tool, providing a framework outlining how a product’s metrics can translate into tangible outcomes and ratings.
Quadra and Quadra Plus can contribute to achieving the Responsible Products credits in Green Star. In the Green Star Buildings rating tool, the RPV of 16 allows them to contribute to achieving credits in the Responsible Systems category, placing them in the Exceptional Performance tier with a required minimum RPV of 11 at a product level.

THE ALL-ELECTRIC BENEFITS

As all-electric units, the Quadra and Quadra Plus systems can also help pursue goals related to fully electric and fossil-fuel-free outcomes, which might require the project to use electricity to power heating and cooling, domestic hot water and cooking.

HEALTHY, LOW-TOXIN MATERIALS

Both systems contain no VOCs or BPA and are Watermark and WELL-certified. In addition, the Gold Level certification under Global GreenTag standards, along with the maximum score for Health & Toxicity the products achieve, further highlights the system’s potential to help support obtaining relevant outcomes within existing frameworks.

WATER EFFICIENCY
In addition, Quadra and Quadra Plus systems’ WELs ratings and flow rates – ranging from 5 stars and 5 litres per minute to 6 stars and 4.5 litres per minute, depending on the chosen dispenser option – can help industry professionals meet relevant criteria for water efficiency.

SUPPORTING OCCUPANT WELLNESS
Beyond direct credit contributions, the Quadra and Quadra Plus support the goals of a healthy indoor environment. Their ergonomic design enhances usability, while the silent, water-cooled operation contributes positively to acoustic comfort. And by not requiring cabinet ventilation, they also prevent unwanted heat from impacting thermal comfort in occupied spaces.

EPD AND THE UPFRONT CARBON REDUCTION

Plus, Quadra and Quadra Plus’ product-specific EPDs equip architects, designers and specifiers with a crucial metric they require to meet the upfront carbon reduction criteria – the Upfront Reduced Carbon unit, which is 167kgC02e/Unit for Modules A1-A3 (cradle to gate).
To achieve the credit under Minimum Expectations, the upfront carbon emissions will have to be at least 10% less than those of a reference fitout, for Credit Achievement – 20%, and for Exceptional Performance, the fitout’s upfront carbon emissions will have to be at least 40% less than those of a reference fitout.
Any project seeking a rating under the Green Star Buildings framework will have to reduce its upfront carbon by a minimum of 10% for Minimum Expectation, while any project seeking higher ratings will require a reduction of 30% to achieve the Credit Achievement. Billi’s product-specific EPD provides the exact third-party verified data required to make this calculation.
“It’s essential for industry professionals to collaborate with suppliers to identify opportunities to reduce the project’s carbon footprint throughout the entire supply chain,” says Fergus Tough, Billi’s Director of Manufacturing Operations.

THE COLLECTIVE NEED FOR A SUSTAINABILITY STEP-UP

There is no doubt that architects, designers and specifiers can leverage the potential of sustainable products with robust sustainability metrics – like Quadra and Quadra Plus – to unlock an effective pathway to relevant ratings and a greener built environment overall. And with the new Green Star Fitouts rating tool being rolled out, the navigational toolbox industry professionals have at their disposal is getting increasingly more nuanced and demanding.
“Based on the Green Star Building system rollout in 2022, and the Green Star Fitouts in 2025, with planned stricter requirements in the coming years, we see that the supplier side of the equation will be called to accountability as well,” says Fergus. “This system calls for prior consideration of the end-user’s well-being and better monitoring from cradle to grave of our product lifecycle. This changes the perspective to a much more holistic one and will drive faster improvement in fitout design for the industry.”
Based on the fact that the Quadra system’s cradle-to-grave number is 175.98 kg CO2 Eq (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent) – about 35% lower than the industry average for worst case product (271.7 kg CO2 Eq) – Billi is certainly well equipped to lead the way.

STRENGTHENING “AHEAD OF THE MARKET” COMPLIANCE

Sitting in the top 35% of Global GreenTag internal rankings with “ahead of the market” compliance, both Quadra and Quadra Plus set an example for highly considered product development. But how is Billi planning to strengthen its leadership position in metric-driven sustainable hydration solutions and in Green Star Fitout compliance?
“We have recently launched with BIMSTORE to keep our digital drawing and 3D files accessible and up to date, and we provide ongoing information to third-party industry websites like Architecture & Design to improve product navigation and search,” says Christy Minutoli, Billi’s Marketing Manager ANZ. “We’re also about to release Billi’s first sustainability report and are ramping up our ongoing collaboration with Global GreenTag and the broader architecture and design industry, with a few exciting initiatives currently underway.”
Billi is also transitioning older units to R290 gas. “That means we’ll be adding a few more options to our sustainable products range – and expanding options for Green Star applicants in buildings or specification design.”
Ultimately, the journey towards achieving Green Star certifications and fostering a more sustainable built environment is intrinsically linked to robust sustainability metrics. And as Green Star tools continue to evolve and demand more from manufacturers, products like Quadra and Quadra Plus – with their independently verified metrics, impressive RPV and the company’s plans to expand their sustainable product range – serve as prime examples of how manufacturers can empower architects, designers, and specifiers to make sustainable product choices and confidently navigate the path to achieving their Green Star aspirations.

SUSTA I N A B I L I T Y  AWA R D S  2 0 2 5 

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y  eBOOK  2025

BRANKO MILETIC, EDITOR

Architecture & Design