New Zealand’s leading performance certification for office buildings, NABERSNZ is expanding into new sectors – and will soon include rating tools for shopping centres, retail stores, warehouses and cold stores.
NABERSNZ is an independent tool, administered by the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) and supported by licensees EECA (the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), which helps businesses measure and optimise energy use. The expansion into new building types is being enabled by funding from ASB Bank which is committed to supporting New Zealand businesses in building a more energy efficient and sustainable future.
NABERSNZ Energy for Shopping Centres, Energy for Retail Stores, and Energy for Warehouse and Cold Stores are set to launch in the second half of 2026 with a targeted pilot programme starting mid-year.
Buildings tend to use over a quarter of New Zealand’s electricity and are vast users of other fuels such as gas.
This framework is used by property managers, building owners and tenants to understand how energy is being used, and how it compares to other similar buildings. Many have used their rating as a springboard to make improvements to their buildings, lower energy use and operating costs, reduce carbon impact, and provide transparency to investors and tenants as to the energy performance of a building.
Announcement of the expansion was made at an event in Auckland on April 15, 2026 where the new NABERSNZ Energy for Warehouses & Cold Stores Energy tool will be piloted by NZ Safety Blackwoods in a warehouse build by Calder Stewart Development, purchased by FortHill Property.
A NABERSNZ rating provides an independent, industry recognised benchmark for operational performance. Since they are third-party verified, ratings have also been a component in accessing sustainable finance and investment.
NZGBC chief executive Andrew Eagles said this expansion is a great development for New Zealand’s commercial property sector.
“NABERSNZ has shown itself to be a popular, successful way for businesses to understand energy efficiency, save money and compare their buildings to others. It’s a powerful tool for building owners to provide more efficient buildings and tenants can be assured that the building they occupy is energy efficient.
The new additions – shopping centres, retail stores, warehouses and cold stores – will get valuable insights from being part of NABERSNZ and will make effective ratings available to several new parts of the property sector.”
“It’s more than just an accurate measure of how well you are using energy. A NABERSNZ assessor can help you identify areas where you can improve energy performance to make immediate and long-term savings, often without additional capital spending,” says Eagles.
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk comments, “It’s exciting to see ASB and the New Zealand Green Building Council partnering to expand the NABERSNZ scheme to shopping and retail centres, warehouses and cold stores. This is one of the specific building and construction chapter actions in New Zealand’s Second Emissions Reduction Plan and it’s fantastic to see business and non-for-profits partnering to drive energy efficiency in New Zealand.
“Energy efficiency isn’t just about reducing emissions and adapting to climate change – it’s good for business by helping cut long-term costs. Going for Growth is about reducing costs and red tape for businesses, as well as investing in the future.”
ASB Executive Manager Business Banking Rebecca James says, “we’re pleased to enable NZGBC to expand the coverage of NABERSNZ to include more building types. Energy efficiency is increasingly central to how our commercial property customers and their tenants think about the performance of their properties. By expanding the scheme, more New Zealand businesses will gain access to ASB's suite of sustainable finance solutions for Green Buildings, supporting their journeys to lower cost, carbon and future proof their portfolios."
EECA’s Group Manager Delivery and Partnerships Richard Briggs says, “Efficiency is the easiest way of reducing energy costs and demand. NABERSNZ provides a vital avenue for businesses to take stock and identify opportunities for better performance.
“Expanding the building types available allows even more businesses to benchmark their operations and take meaningful steps to reduce their energy use – it’s an exciting step forward.”
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is delivering new funding to cover the NABERSNZ licensing costs of the two new building types to be covered by the scheme in New Zealand. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) will hold the licenses, with the New Zealand Green Building Council continuing to administer the scheme.
“This marks a milestone in the delivery of New Zealand’s second Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP2) and will support greater energy efficiency in New Zealand,” says David Hall, General Manager of MBIE’s Building System Performance Branch.
To find out more about this expansion and whether your building can be NABERSNZ rated (including as a pilot case) please contact NZGBC Impact Manager Bobby Shen at bobby.shen@nzgbc.org.nz.
Extra information:
NABERSNZ site - https://www.nabersnz.govt.nz/
Introduction to NABERSNZ - https://nzgbc.org.nz/introduction-to-nabersnz
NABERSNZ is an adaptation of the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS). New Zealand currently offers NABERSNZ Energy and Water for Offices rating tools, which measures the energy and water efficiency of office buildings. NABERSNZ is licensed to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and is administered by the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC). Ratings are carried out by trained assessors.
NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) is a rating scheme founded in Australia in 1999, developed and administered by the New South Wales Government. NABERS has become one of the most successful initiatives at helping reduce energy use and carbon emissions in non-residential buildings globally. In Australia NABERS has been expanded to cover a wide range of sectors of the built environment, including hotels, shopping centres, schools, data centres, apartment buildings, hospitals, warehouses and cold stores and more. The types of ratings also extend beyond energy and cover water, waste, indoor environmental quality, embodied carbon and carbon neutrality.