Environmental Upgrade Agreement signed for 470 Collins Street retrofit

EUA finance through Low Carbon Australia, National Australia Bank and Eureka Funds Management will enable the Suleman property development group to make a 30% saving in energy costs for its 15-storey office block in one of Melbourne’s most sought-after business locations.

City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the project was a shining example of what Melbourne’s older commercial buildings can achieve through retrofitting.

“It is one of a number of buildings in the financial precinct to take advantage of Council support to improve their energy efficiency,” the Lord Mayor said.

"We can see a fundamental shift occurring in the commercial building sector, where owners are starting to realise the incredible benefits of retrofitting. Latest research also suggests that each $1 billion invested in building energy efficiency equates to around 7700 jobs. That's economic uplift."

The building’s owner, Sam Suleman, said the 470 Collins Street project involved upgrades to heating, cooling and lighting and the building  management system.

“This upgrade will help better position the property in the market place by reducing energy costs, improving the building’s environmental performance and is great for tenants, including Timothy Lewis Pharmacy, McDonald’s, TP3, Ross Human Directions, DMR Corporate and Burnet and Intralink Financial Solutions,” hesaid.

NAB head of property finance Andrew Balzan said the use of EUAs demonstrates the attractiveness of longer dated finance for this market. “We’re pleased to be part of this pioneering environmental finance market which is enabling building owners to carry out projects now that will make a difference for years to come,” he said.

EUAs provide project finance which can remove the need for up-front capital and be paid back through rate notices. In Melbourne, the environmental upgrade agreement program is managed by Sustainable Melbourne Fund on behalf of Melbourne City Council.

Low Carbon Australia’s Chairman Mike Rann said that EUAs are just one of the innovative ways Low Carbon Australia was providing finance for businesses looking to improve the energy efficiency of their operations and improve the performance of their buildings through new low carbon technologies.

“Major retrofits of Australia’s commercial buildings over the next decade could cut building emissions by 30% which was significant, as the built environment accounts for nearly a quarter of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“With our support, businesses are improving their productivity and competitiveness while reducing their energy bills as they move to a low carbon economy,” he said.