Green Building Council of Australia director Tanya Cox has been appointed vice-chair of the World Green Building Council, the first Australian to hold the position.
Ms Cox is a former chair of the GBCA, and a former chief operating officer for Dexus. She has been on the board of WGBC since 2016, and held the position of treasurer since 2017. She is also currently a member of the CSIRO Property Strategy Advisory Committee, chair of Equiem and non-executive director of BuildingIQ.
“Tanya has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the field of sustainability, and has championed green building as one of the most effective solutions to climate change,” WorldGBC chief executive Terri Wills said.
“Our board of directors is an influential group of global leaders which oversees WorldGBC’s delivery of its mission of green buildings for everyone, everywhere. As WorldGBC prepares to develop a new three-year strategy, Tanya’s role as vice-chair will be essential to fulfil the full potential of the WorldGBC globally. I look forward to working with her and our fellow directors to make our mission a reality.”
Ms Cox said she was honoured to have been appointed vice-chair.
“Australia is a recognised world leader on sustainability in the built environment and the WorldGBC offers a platform to share lessons learned and collectively build our capacity to respond to a broadening scope of sustainability challenges.”
She flagged that the organisation would be placing more focus on social and economic sustainability.
“Sustainability is no longer confined to environmental issues and our response must address social and economic sustainability pillars as well,” she said.
“The new WorldGBC three-year strategy will enable us to develop a strategic approach to the best ways to address these challenges and make progress against our shared international commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals.”