Green Property Summit heralds next frontier

Green Property Summit heralds next frontier for commercial property

Some 200 building and construction industry specialists gathered at the third Green Property Summit in Auckland on Thursday 24 March to hear about market-leading green property initiatives from New Zealand, Australia and beyond.

Anthony Malkin of Malkin Holdings, owner of New York’s iconic Empire State Building, set the tone for the day when he detailed the economic returns that prompted the company to undertake one of the world’s most ambitious energy-saving retrofits of a commercial building.

New Zealand developers and tenants reiterated the value of investing in green building with a strong case made for systematic measurement of building performance.

New Zealand Green Building Council chief executive Alex Cutler urged delegates to collect data about, and report on building performance where possible. “Just as businesses measure return on investment across their operations, it is simply good housekeeping to measure the performance of the buildings we own or occupy.”

Only then can we make intelligent connections between sustainable value and capital value, and drive the green property market in New Zealand, Ms Cutler said. “NZGBC is working hard with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) to bring a performance tool to New Zealand.”

The Summit also showcased timely examples of liveable and sustainable urban planning in Australia – from carbon-neutral office buildings to ‘green precincts’ in Sydney as part of the city’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 strategy.

Property Council chief executive Connal Townsend said the opportunities available to the commercial property industry were huge. “Green Property Summit 2011 demonstrates the level of skill, technology and world leading examples that are available to the New Zealand market. It also shows how the built environment can be shaped to foster social and economic benefits that spread beyond one building.”

Mr Townsend said Property Council continued to maintain a close working relationship with NZGBC. “Green building has become the way the property industry does business.”

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