Victoria’s health infrastructure to go net zero

As part of a global commitment to reduce carbon emissions, the Victorian Government has set a target to reach net zero by 2045.  

To help achieve this, the Victorian Health Building Authority (VHBA) has developed a Net Zero Building Handbook which sets clear targets and actions to reduce whole life carbon emissions across Victoria’s health infrastructure delivery pipeline and embeds net zero principles into every stage of the facility’s lifecycle.

Benefits:

Reducing whole life carbon emissions in the health sector can support Victoria’s ambitious target of net zero carbon by 2045.

The transition to 100% renewable electricity for all major hospitals from 1 July 2025 has resulted in embodied carbon from materials and construction now representing the largest share of a new hospital’s whole life carbon profile.

The VHBA Net Zero Building Handbook sets out how health infrastructure projects will reduce embodied carbon.

Implementing the Net Zero Building Handbook will:

• reduce whole life carbon emissions from health infrastructure
• support Victoria’s target of net zero by 2045
• drive innovation and best practise in design and construction
• improve operational efficiency and resilience.

Learn more about the Net Zero Building Handbook and how we’re supporting the Victorian Government’s target to reach net zero by 20245 by:

• visiting our environmental sustainability page
• downloading the Net Zero Building Handbook (PDF, 13MB).