The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has welcomed the release of the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) Program roadmap, which lays out a long-term plan to increase transparency around energy performance in Australia’s commercial buildings.

The roadmap provides industry, government and stakeholders a clear pathway for gradually expanding the CBD Program through to 2035, aligning with the recently released Built Environment Sector Plan and the national Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings.

First introduced in 2010, the program currently mandates energy efficiency disclosure for commercial office buildings over 1,000 square metres when offered for sale, lease or sublease, helping prospective tenants and buyers make more informed decisions about a building’s environmental performance.

Under the new roadmap, this requirement will be extended through a staged expansion to cover mixed-use office buildings, large office tenancies, large hotels and public buildings, and eventually different building ownership types and sectors such as retail, data centres and aged care. Funding to expand the CBD Program was announced as part of the Built Environment Sector Plan.

Underlining the growing importance of transparency in property markets and the key role buildings play in reducing emissions, GBCA Chief Executive Officer Davina Rooney describes the CBD Program as a “practical and proven policy that delivers real outcomes”.

“Expanding the CBD Program will drive improvements across more of our commercial building stock, giving owners, investors and tenants better information and more opportunities to act on sustainability,” she explains.

As a long-time supporter of the CBD Program, GBCA has contributed to its development since its launch, successfully advocating for changes such as the reduction of the disclosure threshold from 2,000 to 1,000 square metres in 2017.

The program has delivered significant results to date including office buildings covered by the program reducing energy use by more than 40% on average (FY11 to FY23); carbon emissions reduction amounting to more than 11 million tonnes; and an estimated $1.6 billion savings in energy costs.

“The move towards regular disclosure and continual improvement of NABERS tools will provide more consistent, transparent data to guide investment and performance upgrades across the sector,” Rooney says. “With clear timelines and investment in implementation, it can drive measurable emissions reductions and energy savings across Australia’s commercial buildings.”

While electrifying and improving the energy performance of existing buildings represents one of the most significant opportunities for hitting the 2035 target, Rooney also emphasises the importance of finalising NCC 2025 to ensure all new commercial buildings are zero-carbon-ready, enabling Australia to keep pace with global standards.

With full implementation targeted by 2035, the roadmap is expected to deliver over a million tonnes of emissions reductions and significant energy cost savings annually. GBCA is confident that the expanded CBD Program will drive transparency and accelerate Australia’s transition to a zero-carbon built environment.

Image source: https://www.gbca.au/

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