Building owners, managers and NABERS assessors came together to share success stories and strategies to overcome sustainability challenges. Here’s what we learnt from this 2024 NABERS + CBD Conference breakout session.
Jo-Ann Gamble, General Manager, Sustainability Investment Management, Lendlease
“Lendlease manages 90-plus assets with a value of around $30 billion. “We're like NABERS groupies. We have NABERS across our portfolio... we are excited about the embodied carbon tool. Super excited about the warehouse tool... NABERS for us is not just a baseline for performance. It's a good communicator for our investors and tenants. We use it actively with our centre managers and operations managers to look at how we improve the performance of our buildings."
“NABERS is a language that we've been able to use to communicate [to investors and asset managers] to help us drive the performance... NABERS helps us direct our efforts.”
Stephen Brammer, APAC Net Zero Lead, JLL
"From an international perspective we've got a lot of investors looking at purchasing assets in Australia. They might have heard of NABERS, but they don't know what it is or what it does. But once you start talking about stars they go 'five stars is better than four and a half'.”
“As a NABERS Assessor, you can generate immense value for the client. But furthermore, you can defend the value of their assets against brown discounts… due to poor performance."
Diana Rico-Roa, Director, ESG Plus
"We are pleased to hear the CBD program is going to roll the mandatory disclosure to other sectors. We hope it covers 24/7 buildings that are reliant on gas. NABERS ratings have a great opportunity in hotels… We are finding the star rating is not as important as the NABERS process itself."
"Mandatory disclosure will help us to build a case to adopt NABERS ratings... We always talk about NABERS as a sustainability tool. But in reality, it is an asset management tool as well."
Vass Tzavaras, Director of Engineering Australia, Frasers Hospitality Australia
Hotel engineers are looking at data all the time. “But seeing what we are seeing and then trying to transfer that up the line so the asset owners actually understand what we are trying to do is quite a challenge. An assessor being able to deliver that for us in the way of a NABERS rating really assists our process to get things done [like electrification].”
“The guest experience has always [driven] the 'big dollar' and sustainability gear has been at the back and equipment only replaced as its required to be. I think NABERS is changing the theory and the thinking.”
Ivana Brown, Head of Operations and Standards, NABERS
“Independent third-party benchmarking really helps to communicate... where you need to drive investment, where you need to put your efforts.”
Watch ‘Accelerating success – measuring and managing for a more sustainable future’ and other sessions from the 2024 NABERS + CBD Conference here.