The federal government is to expand its Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program with an influx of $20 million to help unlock energy cost savings and emissions reduction for major commercial buildings.
The government says the program will be expanded to include hotels and other large office tenancies and it expects energy savings to more than double and emissions savings to almost triple as a result.
The CBD program generally requires energy efficiency information to be provided when commercial office space of 1,000 square metres or more is offered for sale or lease. This information is provided as an energy rating by the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (Nabers).
According to the government, improvements to office buildings undertaken to increase their Nabers rating from 4 to 6 stars have saved an average of $280,000 a year.
The new expansion announced this week will include a $10 million investment to expand the existing disclosure program, and a further $10 million to increase the range of energy ratings tools and services for Nabers.
“The cheapest and lowest emission energy is the energy you don’t use in the first place, yet too many Australian buildings fail to meet modern energy efficiency standards and are costly to run,” said Josh Wilson, assistant federal minister for climate change and energy.
“Finding ways to use energy more efficiently is good for the climate and good for the bottom line because commercial buildings are responsible for about 10 per cent of our national emissions and 24 per cent of electricity consumption.
“Doubling the global rate of annual efficiency progress could cut energy bills in advanced countries by one-third, and account for half of emissions reduction by 2030.”
