The penny has not dropped for many commercial building owners and landlords, but tougher laws for ”sustainable” and ”green” buildings are now in place.
Since November, what is called ”commercial building disclosure” has been in full force: sellers or lessors of office space of 2000 square metres or more must obtain an up-to-date Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC).
That means obtaining an official measure of the building’s energy and water efficiency - a National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) - and a similar rating for lighting efficiency. General energy efficiency guidelines are also part of the BEEC.
This is a legal obligation. There are penalties for not complying.
With this in mind, three companies connected to different aspects of the building industry have teamed up to form an advisory service on mandatory disclosure.
They are consulting engineers Norman Disney Young, consultants Rider Levett Bucknall and architecture firm e+ architecture. The last is based in Bendigo but is also active in Melbourne, while RLB offers a life cycle cost modelling service. ”We’re basically a ‘one-stop shop’ for advice on mandatory disclosure,” said Terry Mitton, a director of e+ architecture.
What’s given the partnership a new impetus is Melbourne City Council’s 1200 Buildings Program. This aims to help property owners in the city to improve the performance of their buildings. Further, it provides accessible finance through an ”environmental upgrade finance” scheme. This allows owners of low-rating buildings to boost their energy efficiency.
NDY director Tony McDermott said it was important not to over-emphasise the penalty side of mandatory disclosure. Upgrading an office would ensure the life cycle of the building, and bolster its value and return on investment.
”A retrofit is not as onerous as pulling a building down and putting up a new building,” he said.
Similar schemes for building owners outside the City of Melbourne are available through Low Carbon Australia and Origin Energy’s On-bill Loan.
NDY ”walks the talk”. Its project team, which includes e+ architecture, has refurbished its headquarters, a machinery factory in West Melbourne dating from the 1920s.
The project cost $10 million, with the building now performing better than its 5-star NABERS rating. It’s operating at 89 kilograms of carbon dioxide per square metre compared with the 5-star target of 101 kilograms CO2 per sq m.
Key refurbishment features included a highly insulated building shell, chilled beams, a high efficiency gas boiler for heating, 115,000-litre water tanks, and solar panels for water heating.
For a client, the one-stop shop team will produce a building improvement opportunity report that will analyse a building and show how to make it perform better on the NABERS rating. It will also allow for other major upgrades and provide a cost estimate.
The team comprises architects, services and environmental design engineers, construction estimators, quantity surveyors and real estate valuers.
Businesses that invest in improving the energy efficiency of their existing building may also be able to apply for a 50 per cent tax break through the Tax Breaks for Green Buildings proposed from July this year.
