FMANZ has collaborated with EECA (the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) and NZGBC to develop the Commercial Buildings Decarbonisation Pathway, which launched on Tuesday.
Endorsed by the Property Council also, the programme has been developed to help reduce energy use and emissions from everyday activities like heating, cooling, and lighting.
In brief
- Owners and managers of commercial buildings are invited to sign-up for EECA’s Commercial Buildings Decarbonisation Pathway, which follows five key steps and connects New Zealand businesses with world-class innovation and best-practice guidance.
- This pathway is part of a broader programme to encourage idea-sharing and best-practice advice to enable commercial buildings owners and managers to reduce carbon emissions.
- The programme provides users with free access to helpful tools and resources, designed by industry experts. It also shares insights on what actions other businesses are taking to show the potential within the sector.
Find out more and sign up to receive free bespoke tools, resources and information.
Impact of the sector
- The building and construction sector contribute 9.4% of New Zealand’s emissions for both operational and embodied carbon. This pathway focuses on the operational carbon of a commercial building – that is, the energy used to run the building.
- The commercial building sector makes up 21% of New Zealand’s electricity use, costing businesses $800 million every year.
- Steps taken by commercial building owners and facility managers across New Zealand will help reduce the impact of the sector on the climate, while also reducing costs and ensuring future business continuity in a low-emissions environment.
- This pathway focuses on carbon emissions coming from the everyday operation of commercial buildings – primarily heating, cooling, and lighting – and energy retrofits.
Benefits
- There are co-benefits to adopting clean technology – such as clean air and a healthier environment, and more tenant/occupier satisfaction.
- Decarbonisation is critical for future-proofing from both a sustainability, as well as a financial perspective.
- Improving energy efficiency can reduce the cost of operations and energy and help prepare for the rising cost of high emissions activities under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
- Reducing the demand for fossil fuels offers a key opportunity to both reduce building operational costs and emissions in a commercial building.
- Improving processes, infrastructure and technology can lead to greater interest in building occupancy.
- Decreasing your business’s impact on the environment can attract new tenants faster, command higher rents and quicker sales and improve reputation.
- Collaborative, proactive solutions can reduce competition between businesses for the same services, resources, and opportunities – ensuring business continuity in a low carbon economy.
Collective impact
- With more than 1200 commercial office buildings in New Zealand, small steps taken by businesses can help improve the impact of the sector.
- Collective issues need collaborative solutions. EECA is ensuring all commercial building owners and managers in New Zealand can access the tools and resources they need to take positive action towards emissions reduction.
Staying ahead of regulation changes
- The EECA Commercial Building Decarbonisation Pathway will help your business stay ahead of the curve and prepare for the rising cost of high-emission activities.
- Proposed amendments to the Building Act will make holding energy performance ratings mandatory. Commercial building owners and managers can begin to prepare for this transition by implementing changes that reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
- The Emissions Reduction Plan 2022 has set a target to produce a Gas Transition Plan by the end of 2023, which will set out a transition pathway from fossil gas.
Calls to action
