New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 30/12 | Page 85

Left:The NZI Centre in Auckland,
designed by Jasmax, has a
market-leading 5 Star NABERSNZ
rating.
Below:Sustainability was also a
key design driver for the Kapiti
Coast District Council building,
designed by Designgroup
Stapleton Elliott and project
managed by The Building
Intelligence Group. The building
has an “excellent” 4.5 Star rating
from NABERSNZ.

that higher-rated buildings have lower operating
costs and higher net operating income. They are also
more popular with tenants, showing lower vacancy
rates and longer average leases. Tenants are more
likely to consider the total cost of occupancy.
Here in New Zealand, NABERSNZ is still in its
infancy, and there’s been debate about whether
a voluntary scheme has the necessary ‘grunt’ to
make an impact in our property sector. The premium end of the market has been quickest to adopt
it, which is not surprising.
In Australia it’s mandatory. Without regulation, is
it reasonable to expect local owners and tenants to
care about how many kWh of energy their building
uses per square metre? I think the answer is yes.
NABERSNZ gives tenants new transparency and
new power. When tenants negotiate an office lease,
knowing the rating helps give certainty about ongoing operating costs. If the information exists, which
tenant wouldn’t want a clear benchmark that shows
long-term running costs – not to mention how well
the building is commissioned and maintained for
staff comfort?
From the other side of the fence, NABERSNZ
also contributes to the landlord’s asset value. It’s
your classic ‘win-win’.
Commercial property experts have been taking
a close interest, and training staff to advise on

NABERSNZ. We’re already starting to see lease
agreements specifying minimum NABERSNZ
ratings.
Public sector uptake
We expected government agencies and councils
to be early adopters, due to the onus on the public
sector to demonstrate value for money. This was
borne out, with many of the early NABERSNZ
ratings from the public sector. NABERSNZ
has been stipulated in government leases in
Christchurch.
Widespread uptake of NABERSNZ will be driven
by tenant demand, and when a NABERSNZ-rated
building becomes de rigueur across government,
I’m sure every landlord will be taking notice.
For owners and tenants in Green Star-rated
properties, this is the way to prove your building
performs the way it’s supposed to. While a Green
Star building has the potential to be very efficient,
its actual performance will come down to the way
it’s commissioned, run and maintained.
Long term, if NABERSNZ works as intended we’ll
have both better-informed tenants, and higherperforming buildings.

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