Greenhouse gas emissions from Australia’s commercial building sector are growing by 3 to 4% each year. Energy consumed in commercial buildings contributes a significant proportion to the national greenhouse emissions. Commercial buildings have a major part to play in meeting Australia’s international greenhouse obligations.

Energy efficient buildings have lower operating and life cycle costs, giving a competitive advantage to owners and tenants. NABERS OFFICE is a voluntary environmental rating system for office premises.

The energy component of NABERS OFFICE is the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) scheme. This scheme was launched in 1998, and is now part of the NABERS OFFICE system.

Buying 10% GreenPower can improve your ABGR / NABERS OFFICE rating by around ½ star. NABERS OFFICE incorporates the industry standard Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) scheme for energy and greenhouse efficiency, and the NABERS OFFICE Water rating. The new water rating system is designed to complement ABGR with an additional environmental impact measurement for environmentally responsible businesses.

ABGR / NABERS OFFICE assists owners and tenants to reduce energy use, reduce energy costs and reduce greenhouse emissions. It benchmarks a building’s greenhouse impact on a scale of one to five, one star being the most polluting and five stars the least. Experience shows that by implementing energy efficiency practices many buildings can save 20 to 40% on their energy bills and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

See the ABGR website, www.abgr.com.au for more information on how your organisation can reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.