Sustainability Report 2021 /
Green Star Performance, NABERSNZ, and Toitū Envirocare

In 2020 Britomart was awarded 3 Green Stars in its assessment under the Green Star Performance Tool, administered and audited by the NZ Green Building Council.  The Green Star Performance Tool assesses the environmental impact of Britomart’s buildings through the use of nine impact categories. 

These categories include: 

- Management 

- Indoor Environment Quality 

- Energy 

- Transport 

- Water 

- Materials 

- Land Use and Ecology 

- Emissions 

- Innovation 

Britomart’s buildings are rated under the NABERSNZ scheme, an independent tool that rates the energy efficiency of buildings. The maximum possible rating is six stars. 

Britomart has what is called ‘Base Buildings’ ratings, which cover energy use in core services and common areas – lifts, stairwell lighting, common toilets, air conditioning and ventilation, and so on. The ratings do not apply to energy use by building tenants. 

In 2022, three new Britomart buildings will enter the NABERSNZ ratings scheme: The Hotel Britomart, completed in October 2020, Altrans Quay, and the Barrington Sofrana Buildings, to be completed in late 2022.

NABERSNZ rating: 5½ stars (Market-leading performance)

NABERSNZ rating: 5 stars (Market-leading performance)

NABERSNZ rating: 4½ stars (Excellent performance)

NABERSNZ rating: 4½ stars (Excellent performance)

This year Britomart Group worked with Toitū Envirocare to measure the group’s carbon emissions and establish a plan to reduce them. Britomart Group is now a Toitū Carbonreduce certified organisation.

Toitū Envirocare is a government-owned organisation with a system of environmental programmes aimed at helping businesses reduce their carbon impacts. 

Britomart Group began working with the Toitū Envirocare team in 2020 to develop a base-case emissions profile for the entire group and a plan to reduce those emissions. This work grew out of Britomart Group’s use of the NABERSNZ ratings system and the Green Star Performance Tool. While those systems are useful for their focus on the efficiency of individual buildings, Toitū’s analysis gives the group an overall picture of its environmental impact. 

The calculations for Britomart Group’s overall emissions were certified in September 2021. They show the group’s overall emissions in the year April 2019-April 2020 were 674.26 tCO2e.

To reduce its emissions, Britomart Group has developed a GHG emissions management plan and reduction targets. The group has committed to 5% annual emissions reductions through to 2026, which involves the following plans:

• Undertake a waste audit, review the current waste policy and update it to minimise waste going to landfill

• Check and regularly monitor building temperature set points to ensure floors are not over-heated or over-cooled and maintaining a constant temperature

• Investigate opportunities to install occupancy sensors on lighting controls in buildings and tenancies to save energy

• Investigate alternative systems such as solar to replace gas boilers for heating

• Investigate feasibility of vehicle upgrades to more efficient models

• Monitor emerging remote meeting technologies and introduce/implement to the team as deemed appropriate to reduce travel

Britomart Group is now a Toitū Carbonreduce certified organisation. 

NEXT / Britomart sustainability Mark Sinclair on measuring carbon emissions and improving performance.