The federal government has announced it will invest $10 million to expand the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program, just weeks after releasing its revised emission targets.
The CBD roadmap expansion aims to support the decarbonisation of Australia’s commercial buildings as part of the Built Environment Sector Plan under the Net Zero Plan. A further $10 million will be used to increase the range of energy ratings tools and services for the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS).
The current CBD program, which has been operational since 2011, requires office building owners of more than 1000 square metres to obtain and disclose a NABERS energy efficiency rating at the point of sale, lease or sublease, helping prospective tenants and buyers make more informed decisions about a building’s environmental performance.
The roadmap proposes a staged expansion through to 2035, extending beyond corporation-owned office buildings to include large mixed-use office buildings, hotels and public buildings.
Future stages will broaden coverage across different building ownership types and sectors, such as retail, data centres and aged care. New measures include minimum energy performance standards, periodic disclosure and integration of the NABERS Renewable Energy Indicator
Office building improvements undertaken to increase a NABERS rating from 4 to 6 stars have typically saved an average of $280,000 a year.
When implementing the suggested ‘high priority’ expansion changes, energy savings are expected to more than double and emissions savings to almost triple.
“Expanding the Commercial Building Disclosure program will improve the energy performance of more large buildings, reduce energy costs and emissions, and help Australian businesses to save money while acting on climate change,” Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson says.
The commercial building sector accounts for 24 percent of Australia’s electricity use and 10 percent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Since the CBD program began, office buildings covered by the program have reduced energy use by more than 40 percent on average (FY11 to FY23). More than 11 million tonnes of carbon emissions have been avoided annually and a reported $1.6 billion has been saved in energy costs.
“Expanding the CBD Program will drive improvements across more of our commercial building stock, giving owners, investors and tenants better information and more opportunities to act on sustainability,” Green Building Council of Australia chief executive officer Davina Rooney says.
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