Somersby Warehouse first to achieve rating on the new NABERS Energy rating for Warehouses and Cold Stores

A warehouse on the New South Wales Central Coast has become the first property in Australia to achieve a rating on the newly launched NABERS Energy rating for Warehouses and Cold Stores.

The Syngenta Australia Vegetable Seeds Warehouse at 56 Somersby Falls Road in Somersby has achieved a 6 star NABERS Energy rating, based on use of 100 per cent GreenPower.

The rating was completed by Michael Christensen of Knight Frank Australia’s ESG team. Three team members are now accredited Warehouse assessors after completing training and exams.

The NABERS Energy rating for Warehouses and Cold Stores was launched at the end of September, and is considered a fantastic sustainability initiative to help the industry measure and improve the energy efficiency of industrial buildings.

The energy rating tool can rate the energy efficiency of warehouses, cold stores, and combined facilities, now a key sector of the property industry, particularly since COVID and the rise of online shopping.

The new NABERS tool provides a benchmark for the industrial property sector to target higher standards in energy efficiency and a pathway to continuous emission reductions, according to NABERS.

Knight Frank Director of ESG Stephen Coman congratulated Syngenta ANZ for their sustainability commitment and expects many warehouse owners and tenants to seek NABERS energy ratings soon.

“Until now, there has been no reliable way to benchmark warehouse energy efficiency, but we anticipate many warehouse and cold store owners and tenants, including the institutional owners, will now want to have their properties rated and promote their energy efficiency,” he said.

“This rating becomes doubly valuable in the context of current steep increases in energy costs.

“With three NABERS assessors now qualified to rate warehouses and cold stores, Knight Frank is well positioned to assist warehouse owners and tenants with NABERS Energy ratings and sustainability improvement plans.”

The warehouse in Somersby that has achieved the first NABERS rating for warehouses and cold stores is a seed warehouse for Syngenta ANZ, which is a leading agriculture company helping raise global food security by enabling farmers to grow improved food crops.

The warehouse is used to store vegetable seeds under temperature and humidity control, until they are ready to be packed and distributed.

Mike Tremaine, Health, Safety and Environment Manager at Syngenta ANZ said the Syngenta ANZ Sustainability Strategy reflected its global Good Growth Plan, of which Sustainable Operations is a key element.

“The partnership with NABERS and our energy auditors Knight Frank helps to support our ambitious emissions reduction target and provides us with an opportunity to benchmark against similar sites,” he said.

“We are excited to be the first warehouse and cold store site to achieve a NABERS Energy rating.

“The recognition of the warehouse team’s efforts to reduce our environmental footprint, via the six star rating of excellence with GreenPower, is very rewarding.

“As part of Syngenta ANZ’s continued focus on sustainable operations, our team is investigating additional projects to drive down energy use and our environmental footprint that make business sense.”