New federal legislation enforcing the disclosure of energy efficiency performances of commercial buildings has been welcomed by the City of Sydney.

The Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Act has been given the thumbs up by Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP who believes the scheme will work hand in hand with the existing CitySwitch Green Office program, set up to tackle energy inefficiency with office tenants directly.

“The (Act) will boost energy efficiency as a key competitive driver in the commercial office market and lead to greater energy savings and associated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.

The scheme will require owners to provide a building energy efficiency certificate detailing the energy performance of their building before they sell, lease or sub-lease an office space that covers more than 2,000 square metres.

The Lord Mayor said the Act would allow for greater transparency of information encouraging tenants to make more informed choices.

“This scheme will ultimately increase underlying demand for energy efficient buildings and help create a market for green office stock,” she said.

City of Sydney

cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au