New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 30/12 | Page 82

SECTOR REPORT WORKPLACE PERFORMANCE

SHOW ME THE STARS
The tool that rates a building’s energy use, NABERSNZ, can benefit
both tenants and landlords, says Kane Tarrant of Colliers

Energy rating labels on products are designed
to give consumers power. When we’re buying a
new car or washing machine, most of us pay at
least some attention to the number of stars on the
label denoting how much our shiny new purchase
will cost us to run over time.
Now a similar scheme applies to office buildings
in New Zealand – and it’s starting to change the
way both tenants and landlords think about a
building’s performance. NABERSNZ, the energy
benchmark for commercial buildings, has been in
the market for approximately 18 months.
Based on Australia’s long-running NABERS
scheme, our tailor-made Kiwi version gives owners
a clear way to communicate to the market how efficiently their building performs – and it gives tenants
the power to demand, “Show me the stars.”
NABERSNZ is a clear, independent benchmark
that shows tenants exactly what they’re getting.

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And as the Australian experience shows, it’s an
effective way to improve energy use across our
commercial building sector.
To date, approximately 20 NABERSNZ ratings
have been certified, with many more owners investing in preparing their buildings for ratings, through
metering and energy-efficiency upgrades. We’re
expecting to see more buildings certify their ratings
this year, as this preparatory stage ends.
Long-term impact
What long-term impact can we expect
NABERSNZ to have? It’s worth looking to the
Australian market, where NABERS has brought
demonstrable changes, both in energy performance
and asset value. After three NABERS ratings,
Australian buildings have typically improved energy
efficiency by 11%, rising to 20% by the fifth rating.
Investment Property Databank (IPD) figures show

Above:Kane Tarrant,
Colliers International national
facilities manager real estate
management, says buildings
with a NABERSNZ rating provide
transparency to tenants, and
give landlords an opportunity to
improve returns.
Below and right:The Asteron
Centre in Wellington, designed by
Warren and Mahoney Architects,
with an integrated 13th-floor
fit-out by Geyer, has a marketleading 5.5-Star NABERSNZ
rating.