With another busy month, we’re already halfway through the year. I want to take a moment to reflect on the momentum we’re building as a community.
May heralded one of the biggest events of the year: Housing Summit 2025, which brought together leaders, innovators, and advocates from across the sector. It’s not only a fantastic opportunity to learn and connect, but for us to amplify the urgent need for better housing throughout Aotearoa.
At this year's event we launched brand new research from Infometrics, revealing Homestar rated homes could save Kiwi homeowners up to $98,000 over the life of their mortgage. That’s not just a win for household budgets—it’s a powerful argument for healthier, more efficient homes.
As well as attracting significant media interest for the report, the day’s discussion extended coverage with stories from key journalists appearing across Stuff, OneRoof, RNZ, NZ Herald, Carbon News, ArchictureNow, and more. We even featured on podcasts like The Spinoff’s When the Facts Change and the Seeds Podcast, helping to amplify our message to new audiences.
The Housing Summit also provided a welcome opportunity to hear from Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk who highlighted action on ventilation is imminent, that he wants to take action on overheating, and he used the summit as an opportunity to announce the government is signing the Déclaration de Chaillot. For those who aren’t aware, the declaration is a joint commitment by over 70 governments around the globe to better buildings, and is something we’ve been calling for since it was first launched last year.
In parallel, we’ve been vocal in our response to Budget 2025. While there were some positive signals, overall the budget fell short of what’s needed, whether it be address energy insecurity and rising household energy bills, the climate crisis, or the woeful state of New Zealand’s homes. There are plenty of articles out there if you missed the budget’s main points. I’d recommend this overview from RNZ’s climate reporter Eloise Gibson.
At time of writing, I’m currently at the Electrify Queenstown event – two days of exploration and discussion about the merits of electrification, the opportunities and challenges, and importantly, a chance to build momentum for this vital work. As we set out in our budget response, there are massive opportunities to rapidly ease pressure on new supply by tackling demand, with a wealth of additional benefits such as lower energy bills and increased energy security. Of course we're working to support developers to build fossil-fuel free through Green Star Buildings and Homestar.
Looking ahead, we’re excited to welcome Green Star Buildings in June. From next week, all new project registrations will be under this updated tool, which reflects global best practice and an exciting update for sustainability in commercial buildings. This is a major milestone, and we’re here to support you through the transition. It's a busy time, especially considering we've had our second highest number of buildings register for Green Star, and are on track for over 60 registered this year across a wide range of building types including retail, industrial, sports buildings, museums - you name it!
Meanwhile, there's huge demand for benchmarking the performance of existing buildings with a record number of registrations under NABERSNZ and Green Star Performance. With over 200 buildings this year, we've seen tenfold growth in the last six years, as well as an increasing range of building types.
For those of you in Ōtautahi Christchurch, we can't wait to catch up and connect alongside some pretty inspiring speakers. Our Green Speak event is there on June 26 and free for members. A few of the team will be there, so it's a great chance to say hello and engage with our community.
Thank you again for your continued support and commitment. Together, we’re making real progress—and we’re just getting started.