Moving to sustainability

The Property Council of Australia and the Sustainable Energy Development Office have entered into a memorandum of understanding regarding a partnership to promote energy efficiency in the property sector.

The Property Council’s move follows the state government’s announcement in May that any commercial building it is considering tenanting must have a green-star rating of at least three and a half.

As the city’s biggest occupier of office space by a significant margin, the government has a massive 60,000 square metres of office space expiring in 2007, and several property owners are already undertaking measures to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings.

Tenderers for the 140 William Street development site, which will come with a 20,000sq m government tenancy, have also been advised that any development on the site is likely to require a five-star green rating.

Following an energy audit in Perth’s tallest building, Central Park, the building managers achieved a 12 per cent reduction in energy costs. 

According to management, this was achieved by introducing a range of energy saving measures, including variable drives, automated lighting, and enhancements to the building management system to monitor and control the mechanical services plant more efficiently.

Central Park successfully achieved a 4.5-star base building rating with the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating scheme.

Property Council (WA Division) executive director Joe Lenzo said the MOU signed with SEDO demonstrated a strong commitment by the property sector to energy efficiency in building design and operations.

“The Property Council will encourage and assist council members and the wider property sector to adopt sustainable energy practices,” he said.

SEDO executive director Shelley Liddelow said commercial property owners and managers in Western Australia had discovered significant financial savings in adopting energy efficient practices.