Climate tech-startup, Conry Tech, has released a report entitled Australia’s Worst Buildings which identifies the colossal energy use and inefficiencies of Australia’s built environment.
The report found that the average Australian office building produces 432 tonnes of CO2 per year, the same emissions as 415 passenger vehicles.
However, only two per cent of 127,000 Australian offices are tracked by schemes designed to measure and reduce the energy use and emissions of commercial buildings.
Most of these buildings are rated as 5 stars or higher, giving building owners no incentive to improve efficiency and encouraging them to do the bare minimum, according to Conry Tech.
Conry Tech co-founder and CEO, Sam Ringwaldt, said Australian businesses should opt for higher performing offices while individuals should choose shopping centres and hotels based on their environmental impact to force building owners to make improvements.
The report said this is necessary because reducing the emissions of the built environment is essential for meeting net zero targets. Key findings from the report include:
- The average NABERS rated office building produces 432 tonnes of CO2 per year, the same as 415 passenger vehicles.
- Some Australian offices produce >6,000 tonnes of CO2/year.
- Only a fraction of Australian buildings have a public energy efficiency rating – 2,000 out of 127,000 offices, 65 out of 9,000 Australian hotels, and only a tenth of shopping centres by area
- More than half of NABERS rated offices now have a five-star energy rating or higher. There is little incentive for buildings to improve, and Conry Tech believes 5 stars should be harder to achieve, or more stars need to be added to the scale
- 15 of the worst performing 20 Australian buildings by annual energy use are shopping centres
- There are 19 offices in Australia with a 0 NABERS rating, not even good enough to get onto the scales
- One office in Melbourne reduced its annual CO2 emissions from 14 million kgs to just 4million kgs, which highlights how impactful retrofits and improvements can be
“From the outside, we see shiny office blocks and luxury hotels, but they are deeply flawed buildings and bad neighbours,” Ringwaldt said.
“The built environment is a huge source of emissions, and we are only measuring the very tip of the iceberg. 98% of office spaces aren’t rated at all by current energy and emissions standards and the government should be incentivising building owners to take every step possible to reduce emissions.
“As well as top-down pressure from regulators, Australian citizens have the power to enact change by staying away from our worst buildings.”
Ringwaldt said environmental impact should be one of the biggest considerations when renting commercial space, and even a deciding factor when choosing a hotel.
“People can and should vote with their feet,” he said.
“Imagine a large multi-story car park and the annual emissions of every single car parked inside. That’s the environmental impact of the average Australian office building, and this is low hanging fruit for reducing national emissions.”
Ringwaldt said these buildings need better insulation, double-glazing, and to reduce the staggering energy use of their HVAC.
“Air conditioning is often the biggest energy drain in a commercial space, yet the industry has barely changed for 100 years. At Conry, we have reinvented air conditioning with a net-zero future in mind,” he said.
Conry Tech claims it can reduce energy use of commercial spaces by 40 per cent with its small but powerful “Bull Ant” air-conditioning units.
HVAC is typically responsible for half of a building’s annual energy use. The company has $8.7m in funding to date and is seeking investors for its Series A in 2025.