When it comes to truly sustainable buildings, initial design plays a significant part but it’s ongoing performance that matters – and a new rating system aims to reflect just that. Adapted from the National Australian Built Environment Rating System, NABERS UK’s key focus is improving energy performance in buildings. A ratings scale ranging from 1 star (“poor”) to 6 stars (“market leading”), which is valid for 12 months, enables building owners to measure and publicise the sustainability performance of their properties.
Launched in November 2020, NABERS joins a growing family of sustainability ratings systems for real estate including EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates) and BREEAM. And yet it’s found its niche.
In order for NABERS to have an impact in the UK, it needs a significant amount of building owners to be on board, but it’s still very early days.
- Gregg Taylor, Head of Sustainability for Managed Services, JLL UK
From Australia to the UK
The original NABERS system started in 1998 and became the de facto standard thanks in part to support by the industry’s biggest occupier of office space – the federal and state governments.
In New South Wales, for instance, government tenants must be housed in buildings with a minimum 4.5-star NABERS rating. Today, around 86 percent of Australian office buildings have a NABERS rating.
Following its success, the UK’s commercial property industry took note, with work funded by around a dozen big names including British Land, Lendlease and The Crown Estate. The resulting scheme is governed by Better Building Partnership (BBP) and Building Research Establishment (BRE) and has the support of industry bodies such as the British Council for Offices and the British Property Federation.
The UK launch comes amid a growing focus on reducing the impact of real estate on the environment, with net zero carbon goals looming in 2030 and beyond.
“NABERS UK has a great deal going for it,” says Taylor. “It’s transparent and it offers investors and occupiers confidence that their buildings are aligned with their own sustainability ambitions. It’s a benchmark that works across the industry which makes comparisons easy. And because the ratings are independently validated, they should enjoy a high degree of trust.”
And there could equally be financial benefits for buildings ranking highly. Last year, JLL research on the impact of sustainability on value found that sustainable buildings in central London were enjoying a rental premium of between 6 percent and 11 percent.
This is partly due to demand for sustainable office space outstripping supply – and as more buildings with strong green credentials come on to the market, the advantage will lessen. But an ongoing rating system, refreshed every 12 months, will give investors and occupiers an accurate idea of where their building currently sits on the sustainability scale and how it compares to competitors.