It’s been a big year for the NABERS sustainability rating system, which has just released its annual report for the financial year 2024 (FY24). Among the stars of the show were three new rating tools that have already made a big impact – for schools, retail stores and the Energy Performance Indicator. This is a new tool designed for smaller sectors that do not currently have a standalone NABERS Energy star rating.
And, of course, the long-anticipated Embodied Carbon rating tool will be launched on 19 November.
The tool comes with a reminder from NABERS head of market development Magali Wardle that “embodied carbon is on track to be the largest source of emissions in Australia’s building sector.”
The tool received a $4.8 million investment from the NSW government and has been developed in collaboration with the Green Building Council of Australia, Infrastructure Australia and Infrastructure NSW.
Wardle pointed to key supporting policies that accompanied the new tool such as the NSW Sustainable Building State Environmental Planning Policy and the Australian government’s Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy and Reporting Framework.
Alongside the tool NABERS released the national emission factors database for embodied carbon measurement was launched in June. Wardle said: “This will serve as a reliable resource for emission factors when Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are unavailable.”
The big achievements celebrate a milestone birthday
Overall, the ratings agency certified 5000 ratings in FY24, marking its 25th anniversary with a bang.
Hotels, hospitals, and aged care buildings generated the biggest ratings activity during the year, with energy and water efficiency certifications being the most popular. In fact, the hotel sector has been doing so well that it has its own spotlight in the report, with 90 Australian hotels having their buildings energy and water certified in FY24.
Benefits for all
But the story is positive for many more sectors of the built environment.
Over the past 20 years, NABERS claims to have helped customers save nearly $2 billion in energy bills and 13.41 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
In FY24, the big numbers are:
- 150 per cent growth in residential aged care and retirement living NABERS Energy and Water ratings
- 73 per cent increase in the number of hotels with NABERS Energy and Water ratings
- 110 per cent increase in the number of hotels with NABERS Energy ratings of 5 stars or above
- 15 per cent increase in NABERS Energy and Water for Shopping Centre ratings.
General demand for information on sustainability rating tools is also visibly on the rise, with the NABERS conference this year attracting a record 400 attendees in person and 300 online.
Victoria is leading the way with transparency for their public hospitals
Also, for the first time, NABERS listed 133 Victorian public hospital buildings under its Sustainable Portfolios Index (SPI), which ranks a portfolio of building assets based on its energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste management and indoor environment quality.
Portfolio stars
Some notable results on the SPI include:
- NABERS Energy ratings of 417 assets, representing around 24 per cent of the total national office market, with Walker Corporation’s Parramatta Square achieving the highest score on the index with 5.8 stars.
- NABERS Water ratings covered 399 assets, with Barangaroo International Towers receiving the highest result of 6 stars, as well as the highest Indoor Environment rating (5.9 stars).
- Cbus Property topped the office waste index with 4.4 stars, with this year being the third consecutive year it has done so.
- Of the hospitals rated, 13 hospitals achieved 6-star “market leading” NABERS Water ratings.
Rating for schools complex but rewarding
Development of the new schools rating involved consultation with government education departments from six states and territories as well as representatives from the Catholic systemic and independent schools sectors.
Wardle said that “interest in the NABERS rating for schools was sky high with over 130 Assessors trained and 56 pilots completed.”
And now retail shops are joining the action
While NABERS has been rating shopping centres since 2010, tens of thousands of individual retail stores were previously outside of its scope.
An expansion of the tool has now been launched to target retailers, benchmarked on data collected from 4000 retail stores with more than 100 Assessors trained to support the rollout of the ratings.
Launch of the tool earlier this month was joined by Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson, who visited an Officeworks in Sydney to celebrate the launch with NABERS. The tool will allow retail stores in shopping precincts, and high streets become more sustainable, and is part of the $6 million NABERS expansion program.
Energy performance for broad application
Also in June was the launch of NABERS’ Energy Performance Indicator, the simplified tool is for smaller sectors that do not currently have a standalone NABERS Energy rating tool.
It provides a verified measure of energy and emissions intensity, helping buildings track performance, reduce emissions and cut costs over time.
The tool can be applied to many buildings, from entertainment to recreation centres, sports facilities such as aquatic centres and gyms, cinemas, hospitality venues, public buildings and transport hubs such as airports and train stations. The tool can also help those in the industrial sector, applying to manufacturing and storage sites, childcare centres, caravan parks and many more.
New dashboard improves visibility and ease of use
Wardle said NABERS this year had “completely redesigned the dashboards, enhancing user experience and interactivity.”
“Users can now access Agreement to Rate statistics and enhanced Life of Program (LoP) dashboards, along with a new sector addition specifically for schools.”
This comprehensive update not only provides valuable insights but also empowers all users to better understand and engage with their energy performance, she said.
This included an “exciting first” with the introduction of Renewable Energy Indicator being displayed (REI), allowing customers to visually see the percentage of renewable electricity in each rating.
Wider initiatives underway
Among the initiatives that NABERS engaged in was the Energy Starters program funded by the NSW government to get building owners started on the process of saving energy. In its first year, the program engaged 56 buildings across a range of sectors to kickstart their energy efficiency journey, with 20 per cent of those being regional.
Of those, 88 per cent included hotels, office tenants and shopping centres, with hotels experiencing the biggest growth in uptake. In fact, since 2021, hotel sector uptake has doubled, likely attributed to the government’s Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy and increased outreach from NABERS.
Earlier this year, the Australian government also launched a new Data Centres Starter grants program, giving eligible data centres $8000 towards their first two NABERS ratings, of which four out of 10 identified data centre operators had taken up the offer by the end of the financial year.
And there’s the global work
And let’s not forget the growing global interest in NABERS. Of special note this year was the appointment of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, or CIBSE, as the NABERS UK scheme administrator. New Zealand was no different. It also performed well on growth for NABERS, with a16 per cent year-on-year increase in the energy rating of offices in FY24. The Kiwi branch also started ratings for public hospitals, with its first hospital certification due to be announced later this year.
