NABERSNZ renewed until 2020

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) in New Zealand has renewed the licence for the NABERS environmental program until 2020.

Launched in New Zealand in 2012, NABERS measures a building’s energy efficiency, water usage, waste management and indoor environment quality. The program uses a one- to six-star scale; the highest performing New Zealand building so far identified is the NZI centre in Auckland, which achieved a 5.5-star energy rating.

There have been 28 ratings certified in New Zealand since NABERS’s inception; in Australia, where the program has been in operation since the turn of the millennium, that number is closer to 7000. New Zealand Office of Environment and Heritage Director Tom Grosskopf said he expects to see “strong growth” in the number of assessments over the next five years.

“The Australian property industry experienced a ‘bedding-in’ period with NABERS while building owners got to know the data requirements involved,” he said.

“Once industry was comfortable with the process and the market put the right incentives in place, we saw a rapid and wide-scale uptake.

“We expect that New Zealand will experience a similar gear change over the next five years — particularly since we’re now seeing a number of international financing mechanisms recognising NABERS.”

NABERS data has recently been accepted for reporting under both the Climate Bonds Standard for Commercial Buildings and the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), which direct funds from global institutional investors towards sustainable commercial property assets.

The present NABERSNZ licence covers only the Energy and Water for offices tools; however, this could be extended to other tools in the future.

Image caption: Office of Environment and Heritage Director Tom Grosskopf.