A new water rating system which encourages commercial building owners and tenants to improve their water use was launched on 3 April 2006 by the Minister for Water Utilities the Hon. David Campbell MP.
The water rating tool is part of the National Australian Built Environment Rating Systems (NABERS) for Offices. The tool measures the sustainability of water use in buildings and enables owners and tenants to benchmark their water consumption performance as a first step to saving water.
Left to right: NSW Minister for Water Utilities, the Hon. David Campbell MP, with Investa Chairman John Arthur, Former Director General of DEUS David Nemtzow and Colonial First State's Sustainability Manager Greg Johnson at the launch of NABERS OFFICE Water rating tool
Commercial office buildings are high energy and water users - about 10 per cent of Sydney's water is consumed in office buildings.
Enthusiastic supporters of the NABERS OFFICE Water rating tool at the launch included some of the nation's biggest commercial property owners: Investa Property Group, Colonial First State, Stockland and AMP Capitol, who all said they would use it to rate their buildings.
Commercial building owners and tenants can perform a self assessment at no cost via the NABERS website, nabers.com.au, or have an accredited NABERS assessor certify the building's water performance.
The NABERS OFFICE Water rating tool was developed by the Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability with considerable assistance from the commercial property industry. A suite of environmental rating tools for offices and homes under the NABERS banner will be released in the coming months.
> More nabers.com.au and deus.nsw.gov.au