The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has welcomed the federal government's decision to continue the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program, which was developed to drive energy efficiency improvements in large office buildings.
An independent review of the CBD program by ACIL Allen Consulting found $44 million in benefits have been realised in just four years.
The Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia, Josh Frydenberg, has released the report which supports continuation of the program and related government policies and programs - a moved welcomed by industry.
"The CBD program has been effective in inducing positive behaviour change in relation to commercial building energy efficiency in affected buildings, resulting in significant benefits," the Minister said adding that the program is the principal government program currently in place to drive energy efficiency improvements in the office sector.
Moreover, Frydenberg agreed to support recommended regulatory changes to the program which is projected to deliver an additional $13 million in energy efficiency benefits by 2028 and to streamline industry regulatory obligations.
The proposed changes to the program include:
Lowering the threshold for mandatory disclosure of energy efficiency information on buildings from 2,000m2 to 1,000m2 to capture smaller office buildings; and
Extending the certification validity period for the energy efficiency office lighting assessment, known as a tenancy lighting assessment (TLA), from one to five years.
The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science is undertaking public consultation on lowering the threshold to 1,000m2 until March 12, 2016. Feedback will be used to inform the Minister’s decision on implementing the proposed changes to the CBD program.
Any changes to the CBD program will be preceded by a one year transition period following Ministerial approval. It is anticipated that any changes to the program will not become mandatory until July 2017 at the earliest.
Green Building Council of Australia CEO, Romilly Madew, said the review demonstrates why tackling energy efficiency in commercial office buildings is a smart solution to climate change – one that can be done at a minimal cost to industry and the taxpayer.
“The GBCA has always been a strong supporter of the CBD program, which has proven to be a critical driver in unlocking the emissions reduction potential of our buildings while raising awareness of building energy performance among building occupants, delivering cost savings and creating jobs,” she said.
Analysis from the review has found that improvements in base building energy performance, as measured by the building’s NABERS rating, has delivered cumulative benefits of $44 million between 2010 and 2014 – well in excess of the program’s costs.
The review also found a reduction in end-use energy consumption of 10,020 terajoules (TJ) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 2,051 kilotonnes of CO2-equivalent (ktCO2-e) over the period 2010 to 2023.
“Lowering the threshold for mandatory disclosure is particularly important, as it will open opportunities for greater energy efficiency in the mid-tier commercial buildings sector,” Madew said.
“There are an estimated 80,000 mid-tier commercial office buildings around Australia, but this sector has traditionally lagged behind in energy efficiency upgrades. Lowering the threshold for mandatory disclosure will prompt many building owners to explore the range of services, resources and technologies that can deliver building upgrades, often at relatively low cost, with attractive payback periods.”
"The proposed enhancements, will deliver around $60 million of benefits to consumers through to 2019." Buildings are responsible for around a quarter of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions, but are also one of the most cost-effective opportunities to cut emissions
"Expanding the program to include more buildings will help the Australian Government’s target of increasing Australia’s energy productivity by 40 per cent by 2030,” Madew said.