Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million Australians flicked the switch to mark the beginning of what would become a world-wide movement in energy conservation. Designed to encourage individuals, communities and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for an hour every year, Earth Hour quickly became a symbol for humanity's commitment to the planet. In fact, so popular was the movement in 2014 that Earth Hour was celebrated in over 162 countries and over 7,000 cities and towns worldwide—a great Australian export. The hour has grown into the world's largest grassroots movement for the environment, with beyond-the-hour projects and initiatives happening throughout the year. One of the reasons for Earth Hour's success was the tangible experience of conserving energy and the size of the impact that such a simple act can have on the environment.

Speaking at the launch of the International Energy Agency's Energy efficiency market report 2014 in October, IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven put it beautifully when she said: 'Energy efficiency is the world's first fuel. It is the invisible powerhouse working behind the scenes to improve our energy security, lower our energy bills and move us closer to reaching our climate goals.'

Energy efficiency represents the most important plank in efforts to decarbonise the global energy system and achieve the world's climate objectives, the IEA's report found. In the IEA scenario consistent with limiting the long-term increase in global temperatures to no more than two degrees Celsius, the biggest share of emissions reductions—40 per cent—comes from energy efficiency.

Labor takes seriously the need to conserve and promote energy efficiency and to protect our environment for future generations. This is evidenced in our support for the Commercial Building Disclosure Program. This is a program that was rolled out under the previous Labor government in 2011, aimed at ensuring energy efficiency ratings for commercial office spaces over 2,000 square metres were disclosed to potential buyers and tenants. At the time, there were more than 21 million square metres of commercial office space in Australia's major urban areas, spread across more than 3,900 buildings, with commercial buildings accounting for 10 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy efficiency directly impacts running costs for the occupiers of buildings. Disclosure of this information before sale or lease will greatly assist potential buyers and tenants make informed decisions.

They were the words of the then Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus, when this scheme was introduced in 2011. The energy efficiency information disclosed is in the form of a Building Energy Efficiency Certificate, and one of these certificates includes a star rating of the building's energy efficiency, an assessment of tenancy lighting, and additional guidance on how the energy efficiency of the office may be improved.

The commercial building sector is responsible for around 10 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions, and the figure is rising. Energy efficiency represents one of the cheapest and fastest ways that we can reduce our nation's greenhouse gas emissions. Credible energy efficiency information helps parties to make better informed decisions and take full account of the economic costs and environmental impacts associated with operating the buildings they are intending to purchase or lease.

This bill proposed by the government, the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Amendment Bill 2014, is, in many respects, a housekeeping measure in response to changes that have been proposed in stakeholder forums, and are changes that will reduce red tape. Importantly, the property industry is supportive of the Commercial Building Disclosure Program, with the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council stating in November that: 'The CBD Program facilitates transparency of energy efficiency information, using a robust methodology. This is an important program that addresses the vast number of office accommodations in cities around Australia, using market forces to drive better performing, energy efficient buildings.'

Raising awareness of a building's performance creates a market incentive for tenants to look for higher-performing buildings and for building owners to upgrade their stock and to improve their energy efficiency over the longer term. This leads to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, improved industry capacity and can act as an ongoing industry stimulus. Aside from the benefits in reduced greenhouse gas emissions, the CBD program has a broader range of impacts which are not always captured and easy to quantify, such as increased industry capacity and potential building upgrades that go beyond improving just the energy efficiency of a building but may also improve water use, indoor environment quality and other elements.

The World Green Building Council's report Health, wellbeing and productivity in offices: the next chapter for green buildings represents overwhelming evidence that office design significantly affects the health, wellbeing and productivity of staff. The report found that a range of factors, from air quality and lighting to views of nature and interior layout, can affect the health, satisfaction and job performance of workers. Staff costs, including salaries and benefits, typically account for 90 per cent of a business operating costs. It follows that the productivity of staff, or anything that affects and impacts their ability to be productive, should be a major concern for any organisation. The report also found that even the smallest of differences can have a large affect. What may appear to be a modest improvement in employee health or productivity can have a significant financial advantage and implication for employers.

Labor supports this bill as a continuance of a program that we put in place in government—a program that promotes greater awareness of energy efficiency for potential buyers and tenants in the commercial sector in Australia, promotes energy efficiency and, ultimately, is effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Support for the encouragement of energy efficiency as the world's first fuel and an invisible powerhouse move us closer to reaching our goals when it comes to reducing emissions and improving our environment.

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