Lendlease’s Barangaroo International Towers has again emerged as Australia’s most sustainable commercial property collection, according to the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS)’s Sustainable Portfolios Index for 2023.
Barangaroo towers was the only portfolio among the participating office property groups to secure 6-star NABERS energy and water ratings across 100 per cent of its portfolio in 2023.
Brookfield Property Partners was highest ranked for indoor environment, with a 5.8-star rating, while Cbus Property achieved the highest waste rating for an office portfolio of 4.1-stars.
The SPI is the only publicly available source of information on the sustainability performance of office and shopping centre portfolios in Australia.
Released annually, the index ranks office and shopping centre portfolios according to their NABERS ratings for energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste management and indoor environment quality. This year, 64 property portfolios were disclosed on the index, compared to 57 in 2022.
Banks, fund managers and other investors use the SPI to evaluate the sustainability performance of their investments and loan portfolios.
The SPI Office Energy Index includes ratings on 418 assets with a combined 8.56 million square metres of rated area, representing 27 per cent of office properties nationally. The SPI Office Water Index has data on 385 assets with a combined 8.22 million square metres of rated area.
Research shows that properties with a higher NABERS rating have higher valuations and lower capitalisation rates. Office properties with higher NABERS ratings can command valuations of up to 40 per cent higher than lower-rated properties or those without a rating, according to Real Estate Investment Analytics.