Co-benefits of sustainable building are rarely used to promote policy reform. Two stakeholder dialogues were convened by Monash University, Australia in collaboration with the Global Building Performance Network (GBPN) to deliberate upon strategies to support the progression towards net zero emissions in the building sector in Southeast Asia. The dialogues were informed by a rapid literature review which reported sufficient evidence of health benefits of sustainable building. The first dialogue (July 2021) between Monash University academics identified that narratives are a powerful tool for communicating value propositions of sustainable building—for example through demonstration projects, first-person accounts, creative arts and media strategies. The importance of tailoring strategies to the differing roles of multiple actors across government, civil society, and the building sector, and across countries and settings was emphasised. Consideration of ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ influences on sustainable building was also discussed. Formation of a community of practice and careful consideration of a long-term strategy were also highlighted. The second dialogue (December 2021), with participants from New Zealand and Indonesia, moved beyond the broad idea of health benefits of sustainable building to more specific priority areas for potential collaboration. These included the relationship between thermal comfort and health; air pollution and other risks associated with overcrowding; placing importance on indigenous knowledge; setting emissions reporting requirements for government-backed projects; and exploring the nexus between public facilities & housing, transport, urban planning, and health. The dialogues provide a platform for more formal projects or initiatives in this critical area.