Riverside Centre achieves carbon neutrality using Siemens tech

Siemens technology has helped Ashbridge Capital’s Riverside Centre in Adelaide reduce its energy consumption and emissions.

Controlled and monitored through Siemens’ leading Desigo CC Building Management System (BMS), Riverside has now become one of the few buildings of its age in Australia to achieve carbon neutrality. Originally built in 1987, the 22,000 m² building is claimed to be the only office tower in South Australia fully certified carbon neutral.

By using Siemens technology, the Riverside Centre has reduced its electricity costs by 50%, energy consumption by 40% and emissions by 67.5%. It has also earned a 5.5 Star NABERS Energy rating.

Australian investment manager Ashbridge Capital, on behalf of German investor Atlantic Funds, planned to increase the building’s sustainability in 2020 with a $24 million investment, aiming to reduce the building’s carbon footprint through energy efficiency upgrades.

The investment manager partnered with Siemens on an Energy Performance Contract, which included modernising mechanical services including lift motors, smart metering, LED lighting upgrades and the installation of a solar panel system.

“The Riverside Centre, almost 40 years old, has been transformed into a carbon-neutral building with a 5.5 Star NABERS rating — an impressive achievement. We are exceptionally proud of these achievements, which validate that the Riverside Centre remains as relevant and competitive as any premium office building in Australia,” said Vishant Narayan, Founder and Managing Director of Ashbridge Capital. “Climate change is one of the most significant challenges of our time. The built environment produces around 40% of carbon emissions globally. As building owners, we have a duty of care not just to provide healthy and productive spaces for tenants, but to use the latest energy efficiency technology there is to help reduce our collective carbon emissions.

“Siemens has been a great technology partner on our sustainability journey. From the feasibility studies at the start through to supporting us in bringing some of the best-in-class building management technology, it has been a collaborative effort to get to where we are now. We basically hit every goal we wanted to and outperformed on energy performance by 250%.”

Part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, Desigo CC is an open building management platform which is designed to manage high-performance buildings and adapt to future requirements.

Additionally, Siemens’ remote digital service centre in Melbourne provides real-time monitoring of the Riverside Centre, enabling the building to continue to operate at peak performance with a data-driven maintenance model.

Peter Halliday, CEO of Siemens Australia and New Zealand said, “Australia is responsible for 1% of the global greenhouse gas emissions — but by accelerating digitalisation across industry and infrastructure, we can achieve our greenhouse gas reduction targets faster, ease the burden on ambitious renewables targets and contribute more to decarbonising the world beyond 1%.

“The Riverside Centre is a great example. Technology upgrades have delivered energy savings that will pay for the upgrades over time. This is true sustainability and demonstrates that no matter a building’s age, we can use technologies available today to digitalise, become more sustainable and reduce operating costs.”

Image caption: Vishant Narayan, Founder and Managing Director of Ashbridge Capital, and Peter Halliday, CEO of Siemens Australia and New Zealand, at the Riverside Centre, Adelaide.