Office Buildings

Energy ratings

NABERS Energy measures the efficiency of an office building and rates either the base building, tenancy or whole building. An energy rating works by comparing the energy consumption of a building against a set of benchmarks that have been developed using actual data. A NABERS Energy rating can be done with or without GreenPower.

Base building Energy rating: occurs when central services like heating and cooling systems, lifts and lobby lighting are rated.

Tenancy Energy rating: when businesses choose to rate the space they occupy within a building.

Whole building Energy rating: this rates the base building and tenant occupied space. This usually occurs when there is a single tenant occupying an entire building.

For more information, consult our NABERS for Offices fact sheet.

Carbon Neutral Certification

Carbon Neutral certification is an extension of a NABERS Energy rating. It takes into account how much, or little carbon a building is producing. The certification also incorporates carbon offsets or carbon credits purchased with the intention of a building becoming carbon positive.

Carbon Neutral certification is only available for buildings with current NABERS Energy ratings of 4 stars and above.

For more information, consult our Carbon Neutral certification fact sheet.

Water ratings

A NABERS Water rating looks at the amount of water used and recycled within a building.

Whole building Water rating: measures all of the water used in a building, including the base building and tenant occupied spaced.

For more information, consult our NABERS for Offices fact sheet.

Waste ratings

A NABERS Waste rating measures the amount of waste and recycling that a building generates. The rating is calculated on the NABERS Waste Platform, which can also be used to generate waste and recycling reports.

The information required on the platform is in the correct format to be used in the carbon neutral certification.

• Base building Waste rating: measures only those wastes contracted by the building owner. This rating provides insights into the management of the building, irrespective of which tenants are in the building.
• Whole building Waste rating: measures any waste that leaves from the building, where it can be reliably measured. This rating suits a building with highly engaged tenants who are working with building management.

For more information, consult our NABERS Waste fact sheet.

Indoor Environment ratings

A NABERS Indoor Environment rating measures the indoor air quality, lighting quality, temperature and thermal comfort as well as acoustic quality of a building.

• Base building Indoor Environment rating: is designed for building owners and managers, who generally control and maintain the thermal services, air systems and building cleaning services.
• Tenancy Indoor Environment rating: is for building occupants who control and mange the design and materials used in their office fit-out, lighting and their internal noise levels. Some tenants also have control over indoor air quality as well.
• Whole building Indoor Environment rating: these are for organisations that both manage and occupy their office space, or in some cases where a single tenant occupies the entirety of a building.

For more information, consult our NABERS Indoor Environment fact sheet.

Preparing for your rating

NABERS ratings for office buildings and tenancies are based on real life operational data, collected over 12 months.

For more information about preparing for an office building rating, please see our Preparing for an Office Rating Guide below.