NABERS – How can occupiers boost a building's sustainability goals?

In these climate-conscious times, factoring carbon reduction and sustainability is a given when it comes to the delivery of office spaces.  

The driver for this comes from numerous sources, including green investments, funds, and crucially, environmentally conscious occupiers. In response, the industry has come up with a number of accreditation schemes that allow a building to demonstrate at a glance its innovation and credentials.

However, important as they are, such schemes will mean little if occupiers do not recognise the buildings they occupy may need to be run in a fundamentally different way. They may have to modify their operations and their use of a building if it is to meet the requirements of particular accreditation system.

From design intent to real performance

Take NABERS UK. Its ‘energy-in-use’ certificate focuses on actual operational energy performance, not just design intent. According to research by Knight Frank, offices with NABERS Energy ratings up to 4.5 stars are worth 8% more per square metre than unrated buildings. This figure goes up to 18% for offices with 5- and 6-star ratings.

Operational carbon accounts for between 40% to 80% of a building’s total energy use, reflecting both the efficiency of the building’s systems and the impact of tenant activity. Estimating, measuring, and reducing operational energy requires committed and informed developers and occupiers to work together. Additionally, such efforts move away from the perception that buildings, and their associated sustainability accreditations are commodities that can be bought once and not addressed again.  

NABERS’ energy-in-use approach sets it apart from other sustainability accreditations. It requires building owners to monitor their asset’s energy performance and then act on the measurements to reduce the energy consumption of their buildings and achieve a score based on actual measured data.  

The occupier’s role in NABERS performance

This is all good news, obviously. However, it comes with a high degree of accountability. NABERS goes beyond ‘ticking boxes’ at the design stage: it demands change, both operational and behavioural, particularly from occupiers. An occupier’s own environmental policies and practices can make or break a building’s NABERS rating, which ranges from one star, which describes a building’s start on its environmental journey, to six stars, which suggests a market-leading performance.  

Occupiers must be prepared to adapt their operations – meeting rooms, IT setups, kitchens, etc – to meet a series of required energy targets. Often, energy allowances will be spelled out in a lease, with ‘green leases’ stipulating ongoing energy performance improvement and tenant accountability. This means that missing energy targets could even lead to conditions of a lease being breached.

The reality is that some businesses use more energy to operate than others, for example, companies with IT-heavy fitouts or 24-hour trading desks; choosing a NABERS building could be particularly challenging to manage for this type of occupier. They would need to carefully consider energy mitigation strategies in line with the building’s NABERS targets or even opt for a different building, one that supports their own energy requirements.  

At a desk level NABERS assumes a standardised low energy setup, and high-performance arrangements may exceed the allowances. NABERS also encourages powering down equipment outside of office hours.

Developers will need to consider the mix of occupiers to balance high and low energy uses to maintain their buildings’ NABERS ratings. Incorporating NABERS considerations into the design from the outset will make it easier for tenants to adapt their policies and achieve strong scores. Such considerations may include shared building facilities and smart technologies that reduce a tenant’s energy footprint and help control the building’s overall energy consumption.

Matching occupier needs with NABERS performance

Strategic considerations should also involve early engagement with occupiers themselves. Involving occupiers before lease signing helps them understand the energy expectations placed upon them. At the same time, tenants increasingly expect ‘something extra’ from their commute, meaning that office schemes need to be able to justify their energy use by offering meaningful experiences.  

NABERS represents a shift in how we think about sustainability. It is an ongoing commitment, not a static label, challenging developers and occupiers to take responsibility for the energy performance of their buildings throughout their lifecycle. Along with other accreditation schemes it will help shape the future of office space, focusing on how it is occupied and experienced, and not just how it is built.