Commercial Performance
Clear guidance on NABERS ratings and the measured operational performance of Australian commercial buildings.
For building owners, asset managers, developers and sustainability teams assessing energy, water, indoor environment and long-term building performance outcomes.
Discuss Your NABERS Rating
NABERS is a national rating system that measures the real environmental performance of buildings.
Unlike design based assessments, NABERS is based on actual operational data.
This includes energy use, water consumption, waste management, and indoor environment quality.
The result is a clear, comparable rating that reflects how a building truly performs in use.
For owners, developers, and tenants, NABERS provides a transparent way to understand efficiency, identify improvement opportunities, and benchmark performance against similar buildings.
NABERS is not required for every project.
However, it becomes essential when performance must be measured, verified, or disclosed.
You may need a NABERS rating if your project involves:
• commercial office buildings
• large scale developments
• buildings over 2000 square metres
• leasing or sale requirements
• government or institutional frameworks
In these cases, NABERS provides a trusted and recognised measure of building performance.
NABERS focuses on how a building performs in operation.
This includes:
• energy consumption and efficiency
• water usage
• waste management
• indoor environment quality
The rating is based on real data collected over a 12 month period, allowing for accurate comparison across buildings.
Rather than predicting performance, NABERS reflects what is actually happening.
As performance expectations increase, measuring real outcomes is becoming more important than meeting design intent alone.
NABERS helps bridge this gap.
It provides clarity on how buildings operate, enabling better decisions around energy use, tenant comfort, and long term asset performance.
For many organisations, NABERS is no longer just a rating.
It is part of how buildings are evaluated, improved, and positioned in the market.
A NABERS rating is based on measured operational data.
1 Data collection
Information such as energy bills, water use, and occupancy is gathered over a 12 month period
2 Normalisation
The data is adjusted to account for climate, building type, and usage patterns
3 Assessment
The building is rated on a scale from 1 to 6 stars, reflecting its environmental performance
This process ensures that each rating is consistent, comparable, and based on real conditions.
To complete a NABERS assessment, you will typically need:
• energy and water consumption data
• building size and usage information
• occupancy details
• access to relevant documentation
Our team will guide you through the process and ensure all required information is clearly defined from the start.
The time and cost of a NABERS assessment depend on the building size and the availability of data.
In most cases:
• data collection is the longest phase
• assessments can be completed once sufficient information is available
• timelines vary depending on project complexity
We recommend contacting us early so we can define scope, timing, and requirements clearly.
With extensive experience in building performance and environmental assessment, our team provides practical NABERS insights that support real project outcomes.
We work closely with building owners, consultants, and stakeholders to ensure results are accurate, actionable, and aligned with your project goals.
Design with clarity, measured in reality.
Understand how your building truly performs and where it can improve.
