There have been some exciting new developments in Green Building lately.
Firstly, a new study published by Victoria University, shows retrofitting NZ's commercial buildings could save enough energy to power 330,000 homes. The research investigated whether New Zealand’s current commercial building stock could be converted to net zero energy. According to the research half of the net zero energy target could be achieved by retrofitting just 1,200 of the largest of New Zealand’s 27,000 commercial buildings. The savings from these large buildings would be equal to the annual electricity generated by all wind turbines in New Zealand.
Radio New Zealand covered a recent report by the Climate Action Tracker Group, stating NZ is woefully lagging behind other developed countries in cutting greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and construction. The group is part-funded by the German government and monitors 32 countries' emissions and policies, and their impact on global warming. We agree that New Zealand urgently needs green building standards if we’re to meet our target of carbon-neutrality by 2050 and future proof our buildings.