NABERS environmental ratings for buildings extended to six stars

Australian buildings are becoming so much more efficient that the NABERS rating scale is being extended from 5 to 6 stars.

The new 6 star rating was launched by Office of Environment and Heritage Chief Executive Lisa Corbyn at an industry forum in Sydney.

Corbyn said the extra star acknowledged that the Australian property industry is reaching a standard previously considered beyond world’s best practice.

“In the 10 years since the NSW Government introduced the first environmental performance rating for offices, Australian commercial buildings have become so much more efficient the time has come to introduce a sixth star,” Corbyn said.

“This is a move that was called for by top performers in the commercial property industry who are already moving beyond NABERS five-star excellence towards a market-leading six-star goal.

“It reflects an ongoing improvement in the environmental performance of Australian buildings over the past 10 years, underpinned by the robustness of the NABERS tool as a performance measure.”

Corbyn said office buildings using NABERS to measure and manage energy and water use improved greenhouse performance by an average11.5% and water efficiency by 9%.

The launch also saw the presentation of the first seventeen 5.5 and 6 star NABERS Energy and Water rating certificates to NSW office buildings, tenancies, hotels and shopping centres achieving market-leading performance and efficiency.

A further 30 NSW buildings which have gone beyond five stars in water and emissions savings through purchasing GreenPower or recycled water will also receive 5.5 or 6 star certificates.

NABERS is a national program, administered by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. It includes tools for Energy, Water, Waste and Indoor Environment.

Sixty per cent of Australian office space has been rated with NABERS Energy, 68% in NSW. Around 5% of rated buildings are currently achieving a 5 star rating, set as an aspirational target in 2000. A 6 star rating will be awarded for ‘Market Leading’ performance, and will represent a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions or water use from 5 stars.

Michael Cameron, CEO and Managing Director of the GPT Group, an early adopter of the ratings tools, said a decade of benchmarking building performance with NABERS has driven efficiency gains across the company’s portfolio.

“As a company with a strong commitment to leading the market in energy efficiency and sustainability, we welcome the extension of the NABERS rating scale,” Cameron said.

“It provides the opportunity for us to set higher targets and to demonstrate the effectiveness of our environmental initiatives across the portfolio.”

Two organisations have also signed 6 star NABERS Energy Commitment Agreements:

Grocon and GPT will target a 6 star NABERS Energy rating for the Legion House project in Sydney. As part of the 161 Castlereagh Street development, the 1902 heritage building will be refurbished to be carbon neutral. When completed, Legion House expects to be the first 6 star NABERS heritage building in Australia.

Local Government Super has committed to retrofitting 76 Berry Street in North Sydney, including an innovative tri-generation system, to achieve a 6 star NABERS Energy rating.

NABERS Commitment Agreements enable building proponents to promote their NABERS rating commitment from the outset of a project, and provide a process to achieve measurable operational performance results.