The Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Josh Wilson, announced the release of a roadmap to expand the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program.
CBD expansion aims to support the decarbonisation of Australia's commercial buildings as part of the Built Environment Sector Plan under the Net Zero Plan. The Australian Government has announced around $10 million to expand the CBD program and around $10 million to accelerate investment in NABERS.
The commercial building sector is a major energy user. It accounts for:
- 24% of Australia's electricity use
- 10% of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions.
The roadmap sets out the Australian Government's vision for the future of the CBD program. It outlines how expanding the program can support the sector to:
- improve energy efficiency
- reduce emissions
- save on energy costs
- transition to a net zero economy.
The release of the roadmap follows a feasibility report recommending expanding the program and subsequent public consultation on the expansion in 2024.
The current CBD program has been in operation since 2011. It provides access to easy to understand information about a building's energy use.
The disclosure of this information has:
- helped to save businesses operational costs
- supported investment
- reduce energy use and emissions.
The program only currently applies to office space for sale or lease over 1000 square meters.
The program will be expanded in stages to include more building types and ownership models. Changes that will be considered include:
- expanding the program to large hotels and certain office tenants
- lowering the size threshold for office buildings
- extending the program beyond corporate ownership to other property owners.
