Workzone West becomes first carbon neutral 6 Star commercial building in WA

2 March 2022

Another sustainability milestone has been reached in Western Australia, with the Workzone West building in the Perth CBD becoming the first carbon neutral 6 Star NABERS Energy rated commercial building in the state.

The achievement for the commercial office building at 202 Pier Street was reached via a partnership between the building’s owner ASX-listed Elanor Investors Group, and Knight Frank Facilities Management, which manages the facility.

It comes after Workzone East, around the corner at 1 Nash Street, became the first carbon neutral commercial building in Western Australia in October last year, which was the result of a collaboration between Knight Frank’s Asset Management Services team, which manages the facility, in partnership with the building owner RF CorVal and Cundall.

Workzone West was built in 2013 and designed as a 5 Star Green Star building. The building comprises 15,602sq m of A Grade office space over seven levels, with 192sq m of ground floor retail. Car parking is provided within the basement for 141 cars.

The building is fully occupied, with the key tenant being CPB Contractors.

The Carbon Neutral certification for Workzone West was provided by NABERS against the Australian Government’s Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for Buildings for the period ranging from 9 February 2022 to 9 February 2023.

When choosing carbon offsets for the asset, carbon credits from a renewable energy project approved by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change were purchased. Climate Active members are required to use offsets that result in genuine emissions reduction.

Knight Frank’s Facilities Manager Janitha Kaushal said the achievement for the building was significant for Perth’s commercial market, setting a new benchmark for sustainability, which was a growing focus for real estate investors globally.

“A focus on sustainability is good for the environment, with commercial buildings generating nearly 40 per cent of annual global CO2 emissions, and of those total emissions, building operations are responsible for 28 per cent each year.

“But a focus on sustainability is also beneficial for property owners and occupiers, as it saves energy and reduces costs, increases revenue and mitigate risks, and we expect to see greater capital glows towards green-rated building and buildings that have the potential to be made ‘green’ over the coming year.

“West Australian Climate Policy also offers exciting opportunities for new cleaner industries and supports the transition to a low carbon economy.”

Mr Kaushal said both Knight Frank was passionate about sustainability in its facilities’ management, with the team continuously looking to implement energy efficiency initiatives above and beyond their client’s expectations to improve the building’s performance.

“Not satisfied with achieving the first carbon neutral office building in Western Australia last year, the Knight Frank Workzone team, consisting of myself, Glen Bougourd, Grant Reid and Chris Whincop, set a goal to achieve the first 6 Star carbon neutral rating building in the state, and we have achieved that with Workzone West,” he said.

“We prepared a sustainability roadmap late last year and set a goal to become the first 6 Star carbon neutral building in Western Australia.

“Workzone has achieved a NABERS Energy 6-star rating for two consecutive years without green power and it has almost three times less electricity consumption than an average Perth office building. Having already achieved the 6 Star rating, we had our sights set on achieving the carbon neutral milestone to add to the building’s accomplishments.

“Measures including altering lighting schedules, introducing sensor lighting systems, upgrading to LED lighting and implementing a control strategy for air conditioning usage through the lifts and tenancies, helped to minimise the carbon offset and achieve the carbon neutral certification within just months.”

Elanor’s Co-Head of Real Estate and Elanor Commercial Property Fund’s Manager David Burgess said: “We are very pleased that this high-quality office building not only represents excellent value for our capital partners but is also the only commercial building in Western Australia with both Carbon Neutral Certification and 6 Star energy NABERS rating.

“Together with our property manager, Knight Frank, we have implemented a five-year sustainability plan to ensure that this status is maintained as we continue to focus on developing market leading ESG credentials to our commercial properties.”

HFM Asset Management’s Alex Sejournee, the Climate Active/NABERS Assessor for the property, said: “We are extremely pleased to have supported Elanor and Knight Frank on their journey to becoming carbon neutral.”