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climate where the building or workspace
operates, operational characteristics such as
longer opening hours in places including
shopping centres, the services provided in the
building such as heated swimming pools in
hotels, as well as a building’s size and
occupancy.
HOW WILL A NABERS RATING BENEFIT
MY CLIENT?
Under the Building Energy Efficiency
Disclosure (BEED) Act 2010, a NABERS rating
is legally required for commercial building
owners/managers with spaces within office
buildings of 1000 sqm or more.
But, mandatory or not, there are a host of
benefits that come along with a NABERS rating
that your clients should also know about. A
NABERS rating will not only help them to
improve operational efficiency and productivity,
it also demonstrates their commitment to
protecting and conserving the environment. A
rating also helps your clients optimise what is
known as the “triple bottom line” – that is, their
financial, social and environmental outcomes
– by reducing building energy usage and costs
over the life of the building.
A quick look at that “triple bottom line”
throws up some pretty impressive numbers.
According to NABERS, office buildings using its
rating have already saved a whopping $400m in
energy bills since 2010. NABERS-rated
buildings have also reported:
• an average improvement in emissions of 11.5%.
• a 9% increase in water efficiency, saving a total
of 257,000 tonnes of CO2 and 1,100 mL of water
every year.
A NABERS rating can also help landlords
to meet tenant expectations for greener
buildings and workplaces, in particular,
government tenants who require a 4.5-star
rating as a minimum.
SPOTLIGHT ON YOUR
WELL-TO-DO NABERS
A LOOK AT THREE SIX-STAR NABERS RATED BUILDINGS
AND HOW THEY GOT TO THE TOP.
171 COLLINS STREET,
MELBOURNE
Who/what: Joint project
between Cbus Property and
Charter Hall, designed by
award-winning architects Bates
Smart, engineered by Umow Lai
and managed by Knight Frank.
How: 171 Collins Street
saves more than 1.3m
kilograms of carbon dioxide
each year when compared
to a building with a 5-Star
NABERS energy rating. The
building has a ceiling tile
system that absorbs office
pollutants, a radiant cooling
and heating system, and an
underfloor air distribution
network that provides
energy-efficient thermal
comfort, while the air-
conditioning system allows
large quantities of outside
air to be brought into the
office space at a low velocity
and is distributed using natural
stratification. A greywater
treatment program collects
used water from the
cyclist shower facilities and
recycles it through the
building’s cooling towers and
toilets, offsetting more than 90%
of the cooling towers’ water
consumption.
STARS IN OUR EYES
Thousands of buildings are NABERS
rated across Australia.
Here’s the star-studded breakdown*:
6 stars:
59 buildings
5.5 stars: 200 buildings
5 stars: 452 buildings
4.5 stars: 452 buildings
4 stars:
484 buildings
3.5 stars: 326 building
3 stars: 273 buildings
2.5 stars: 114 buildings
2 stars: 118 buildings
1.5 stars: 40 buildings
1 star: 33 buildings
0.5 stars: 0 buildings
0 stars: 115 buildings
*Figures correct as of 10/5/19
321 EXHIBITION STREET,
MELBOURNE
Who/what: Invesco engaged
CBRE, Ausnviro and AG Coombs
to improve the environmental
performance of the building
How: The tower was the first
25-year-old retrofitted building
to achieve the maximum score
in Australia – it previously had a
NABERS rating of 2.5 stars until a
two-year plan to attain the
highest possible ranking was
implemented. Upgrades
included modern heating,
ventilation, aircon, lighting and
control systems. The building
has LED lighting, sub-metering
of all substantive building uses,
trigeneration heating and
cooling systems, water-efficient
fixtures and fittings, end-of-trip
facilities, basement recycling
and a glass facade to
maximise daylight harvesting.
2 KING STREET BRISBANE
Who/what: A premium
nine-storey commercial
office tower in Fortitude Valley.
Impact Investment Group
acquired the property in
July 2015.
How: A steering group of
tenants was established.
NABERS energy, water and
indoor environment quality
ratings were undertaken
and IIG’s focus has been to
work closely with tenants to
monitor environmental
performance, and implement
tuning and upgrade
measures as identified. Building
services and features include a
low temperature variable air
volume HVAC strategy, a
modified variable flow
primary chilled water system
and an auxiliary condenser
water system.
JUN – JUL 2019 GEMCELL.COM.AU
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