The first privately funded Environmental Upgrade Agreement (EUA) has been signed under the City of Melbourne’s 1200 Building Program, paving the way for property owners to access finance for environmental (energy efficient) retrofits of commercial buildings.

National Australia Bank (NAB) has partnered with Low Carbon Australia Limited to develop a finance product that encourages commercial property owners to carry out sustainability upgrades through EUAs.

The building owners of 123 Queen Street, Melbourne will use the EUA to fund the implementation of energy efficiency measures which will result in the building’s NABERs rating increasing from two to four stars.

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NAB’s Head of Property Finance, Andrew Balzan said that NAB is pleased to be a part of pioneering Australia’s environmental finance market.

“NAB has worked extensively with the City of Melbourne to successfully legislate this new initiative, the key component of which is the partnership between building owners, tenants, councils, solution providers and capital providers.

“The signing of 123 Queen Street in Melbourne signals the first privately funded EUA. It is the first product of its kind in Australia, with legislation now implemented in parts of NSW and Victoria,” Mr Balzan said.

CEO of Low Carbon Australia, Ms Mcdonald, said: “This is a major milestone for low carbon finance in the Australian property sector. We are excited to be involved in the finance solutions readily available to building owners who wish to progress now to retro fit their properties and start capturing energy savings and reducing carbon emissions.”

City of Melbourne Eco-City Councillor Cathy Oke said the signing marked an important milestone.

“We know that access to affordable capital is a major barrier in retrofitting commercial buildings. This innovative financial mechanism removes this barrier and equips building owners with the financial tools they need. I’m confident we will see many more signings like it in the future,” Cr Oke said.

The NAB Environmental Upgrade Funding will be funding individual projects from $250,000 to $10 million.

CarbonetiX have significant experience working with private and public funding bodies and can help you secure finance for energy efficiency retrofittings in commercial buildings.

Our qualified NABERs certified engineering staff can consult, assess and  project manage commercial building energy efficiency projects.

- Contact us to discuss an energy efficiency retrofit of your commercial building -