As the election draws ever closer, our sector has an incredible opportunity. In the face of a climate crisis, of which our sector is a major contributor, we also have the means right now to significantly reduce our emissions while also reducing living costs and improving the health of our people. All that’s missing is a bit of ambition.
Polling results show around 1 million New Zealand voters could be swung to vote for a political party that delivers on improving the health of kiwi homes. There’s growing demand for government to help transform the homes we’ve built in the past into warmer, healthier, more efficient places. The Homes We Deserve alliance calling for an ambitious retrofit programme continues to build momentum with now 165 signatories.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is one of the largest events to be hosted in New Zealand’s history. Over 1.3 billion fans are expected to watch the games. For the hundreds of thousands of fans attending them in person I’m thrilled to say they will be in Green Star Performance rated stadiums and are actively working to reduce their operational impact. New Zealand’s sports infrastructure is moving to focus on robustly measuring their environmental performance and reduce carbon emissions.
NABERSNZ certifications continue to grow strongly. Five years ago there were twenty ratings, this year we have hit 130 as the sector gears up for mandatory energy performance certificates. Thank you to all those great NABERSNZ assessors and champions out there in the community.
Alongside shaping the buildings of today, we’re seeing strong and inspiring growth when designing and creating the buildings of the future.
The average home we build at present is over five times our carbon budget. This election is a great opportunity to remind political parties that for the benefit of all Kiwis they should commit to a building code that aligns with the Zero Carbon Act, and to get cracking on the Building for Climate Change programme. Research from BERL sets out that we stand to benefit close to $147bn if we move to near zero energy offices and homes sooner rather than later. On top of the multi-billion-dollar contribution to the nation’s coffers, the study found building much lower carbon homes and offices will also support an additional 46,000 full-time jobs on average every year between 2025 and 2050, and slash 13 million tonnes of carbon pollution from construction.
Next week we’re releasing our draft of Green Star Buildings for New Zealand - Green Star’s next iteration due to be introduced here from mid-2024. This is the important step forward we need if we are to meet our 2030 targets and reduce our sector’s impact, helping our sector better deal with risks and align with goals of the construction and property sector. We’re tremendously grateful to all of you who have already shared your time and expertise to create this draft.
I’d urge all our members to have a read and tell us what you think. Keep an eye out for consultation events over the next few months for the chance to find out more, ask any questions and engage with the team directly. As always, these consultation processes reinforce to me the talent and knowledge we have throughout the sector, as well as the collective ownership many of our community take in shaping future excellence.
For anyone who has read our recent Climate Change Commission submission, you’ll know there’s a lot that needs to be done, and a raft of ideas just waiting to be picked up and run with. The current consultation on improvements to consenting provides another opportunity to prioritise lower carbon healthier homes and buildings. We'll be sharing our submission and I'd invite you to let us know your thoughts
Thank you to all who have supported one another, who have supported our vision, and who are out there driving the change our industry needs. Together we’re helping shape the communities of tomorrow, and we have an obligation to ensure they’re truly outstanding.