03 May 2017
3 May 2017
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has surpassed 700 certifications and registrations under the Green Star – Performance rating tool, as investors demand assurance that their assets are well-managed.
“The property industry continues to accelerate its commitment to transparency, accountability and ongoing sustainable operations,” says the GBCA’s Chief Executive Officer, Romilly Madew.
“Asset owners are using the rating tool to assess the performance of assets well beyond commercial offices – and 45 per cent of ratings are now for retail properties,” Ms Madew adds.
Green Star – Performance assesses the operational performance of buildings against nine environmental impact categories: management, indoor environment quality, energy, transport, water, materials, land use and ecology, emissions and innovation.
Charter Hall recently registered 179 projects to achieve Green Star – Performance ratings, and will have the largest Green Star-rated portfolio in Australia.
Managing Director and Group CEO, David Harrison says this portfolio rating is important to Charter Hall, as it “provides a consistent cross-sector benchmark to enhance our buildings’ operational performance and deliver our tenant customers a consistent high-performing product”.
Rating the entire portfolio of assets will help Charter Hall to “set targets” as the company continues to “enhance and invest in high-performing buildings that meet the expectations of our investor and tenant customers,” Mr Harrison adds.
Vicinity Centres used Green Star – Performance last year to achieve 92 ratings, representing 100 per cent of Vicinity’s portfolio. Melissa Schulz, General Manager Sustainability, says the process helped Vicinity Centres to “benchmark individual centre performance following the consolidation of our asset portfolio”.
“We found it really helpful in highlighting existing areas of best practice, which we are now rolling out across the broader portfolio to drive performance improvements,” Ms Schulz says.
Vicinity Centres plans to use the rating tool to “measure changes in our performance in the future”.
Dexus Property Group has 76 Green Star – Performance ratings, and Paul Wall, Group Sustainability and Operations Manager, says the rating tool has been a conversation starter with industrial tenants and helped his team collect data for “an asset class that has historically been difficult to obtain”.
“Having credible metrics to start the discussion with our industrial tenants allows us to open up a broader discussion about energy efficiency and renewable energy which can provide benefits including cost reductions and energy security,” Mr Wall adds.
Frasers Property continues to grow, having held the honour of the first portfolio rating in Australia, and now has 70 Green Star – Performance ratings under its belt.
“The industrial sector in particular has lacked a credible, rigorous third party certification scheme for some time and Green Star – Performance has well and truly filled this gap,” says Paolo Bevilacqua, Frasers Property Australia’s General Manager Sustainability.
“The rating tool has allowed us to benchmark our properties at an asset and portfolio level, enabling more informed decisions as we develop asset plans and sustainability strategies to improve our performance,” Mr Bevilacqua adds.
“Investors, tenants and owners increasingly regard superior sustainability as an indicator of quality. And that is driving more companies to seek Green Star ratings as they demonstrate their commitment to green, not greenwash,” Ms Madew concludes.