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Home Sustainability
May 14, 2025

Cromwell’s green trifecta for 6-star NABERS Energy ratings

Cromwell is proud to announce significant achievements in sustainability with three more assets across our portfolios recently achieving a 6.0-star NABERS Energy rating: 540 Wickham Street in Fortitude Valley, 420 Flinders Street in Townsville, and 19 George Street in Dandenong.

NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) offers reliable and comparable sustainability measurements across various building sectors. In Australia, a NABERS Energy rating is mandatory for office buildings over 1,000 square metres being sold or leased, with 6.0-stars being the highest achievable rating. Achieving a high NABERS rating is not just a regulatory requirement but a mark of excellence in environmental performance. Top-rated NABERS buildings are highly sought after by blue-chip and government tenants, underscoring their value and desirability. These ratings signify a commitment to sustainability, leading to significant cost savings, enhanced marketability, and a positive environmental impact.

Our property team continually explores ways to optimise energy efficiencies and future-proof our assets to allow us to continue to deliver financial returns for investors while reducing environmental impacts. This proactive approach ensures that our buildings meet the highest standards of sustainability, as evidenced by our recent 6.0-star NABERS Energy ratings.

HQ North, 540 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley

The team has been continuously optimising our HQ North asset through various initiatives. Following the decommissioning of the gas-fired power cogeneration facility at HQ North in FY23, the operational building’s gas usage for 2024 has dropped 98%, now limited to hot water units for the End-of-Trip facilities and bathrooms.

In November 2023, we installed a 158kW capacity solar PV system, which now meets approximately 15% of the building’s annual electricity demand. Additionally, by optimising the building management system, upgrading to LED lighting in common areas, and switching to GreenPower in January 2024, we have achieved a 66% reduction in scope 2 emissions.

These combined, continuous improvement efforts have earned HQ North a prestigious 6.0-star NABERS Energy rating. We continue to seek efficiencies for the asset with the electrification of the domestic hot water units currently under review. Timing for their replacement is dependent on budget planning and a holistic evaluation of the embodied carbon across the units’ life cycle to ensure the most sustainable long-term outcome.

19 George Street, Dandenong

Similarly, the recent investment in a 100kW capacity solar PV at 19 George Street, Dandenong, is already yielding results, accounting for 9.4% of total site energy. As the system was installed partway through the year (operational for 7 months), this figure does not yet represent its full-year performance. The solar generation has helped reduce reliance on grid electricity and supported lower operational emissions and energy costs. Together with 100% accredited GreenPower, the site achieved 55.3% renewable energy use and a 6.0-star NABERS Energy rating.

Part of the Cromwell Direct Property Fund portfolio, and tenanted by a government organisation, this achievement underscores Cromwell’s commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency across both our funds and investment portfolios.

The building’s onsite solar generation plays a key role in supporting the tenant’s net zero by 2030 target, by reducing emissions associated with its tenancy. While these are considered Scope 3 emissions for the tenant, they contribute to lowering the environmental impact of leased space, a growing focus in government sustainability strategies. Cromwell’s use of 100% accredited GreenPower complements the onsite solar, further reinforcing our commitment to providing low-carbon, future-ready assets for government tenants.

420 Flinders Street, Townsville

The final asset to achieve the upgraded 6.0-star NABERS Energy rating is another Cromwell Direct Property Fund asset, 420 Flinders Street, Townsville, with 99.3% of the building’s energy now sourced from renewables. This result was supported by a strategic investment in a 39.9kW onsite solar PV system, which contributes 6.2% of the site’s total energy.

Installed in mid-2024, the system’s current performance does not yet reflect a full 12 months of operation. Despite installation challenges due to weather and structural constraints, it has delivered strong early results. Alongside 100% accredited GreenPower, the investment has significantly reduced the building’s operational emissions.

Cromwell’s commitment to sustainable excellence

Cromwell now has six assets with 6.0-star NABERS Energy ratings and six assets with 5.5-star Energy ratings within its fund and investment portfolios demonstrating our dedication to optimising our assets pushing the boundaries of what is possible in sustainable building practices. Our lowest Energy rating is a 5.0-stars, reflecting our high standards and commitment to excellence.

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Home Sustainability
November 12, 2024

Tenants praise Cromwell’s approach as FY24 ESG results released

Cromwell’s latest ESG report was released in late October – the document outlines the significant progress the business has made towards our long-term ESG targets in FY24, including sizeable reductions in Australian scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Encouragingly, the results have been praised by tenants throughout our Australian office and fund portfolios.

Cromwell Head of Property Operations, Tessa Morrison, said ongoing delivery of ESG initiatives was consistently being undertaken in close partnership with building users to deliver tangible positive impacts.

“We’ve seen a massive shift towards an ESG focus by tenants in the past 18 months – it’s always been strategically important to us as a business, but it is increasingly becoming a key consideration for occupiers in their decision making as well,” said Ms. Morrison.

“A large part of Cromwell’s ESG approach is centred on ‘future proofing’ our assets – making sure we can meet the current and future needs of occupiers. By installing solar energy infrastructure and making the shift to GreenPower in our buildings, for instance, we’re taking steps to secure the long-term future of our assets and simultaneously aligning our approach with our occupiers’ ESG needs.

“Larger tenants, in particular, are telling us that they need to have their net zero strategy in place; they’ve got their own targets and, because of their footprint, they need to carefully consider the office space they occupy.

“This means that if we can’t support tenants’ needs, they can’t meet their ESG objectives, but by meeting tenant ESG demands – through the implementation of environmental, social, and governance policies to produce tangible results – we’re working to maximise rental yield, reduce waste, and retain tenants at the same time.”

Through the implementation of environmental, social, and governance policies to produce tangible results – we’re working to maximise rental yield, reduce waste, and retain tenants at the same time.
Tessa Morrison – Head of Property Operations, Cromwell Property Group

Global software corporation occupies a full floor at Cromwell Direct Property Fund’s 100 Creek Street building in Brisbane’s CBD. Gustavo Pilger, 3DS’s R&D Strategy & Management Director, said, “ESG, and sustainability in general, is at the core of our purpose and ambition as a company. It remains critical that we do business with organisations that place importance on ESG also, so to see Cromwell make strides towards their own ESG ambitions has been hugely encouraging.”

Similarly, business advisory firm ImpactInstitute, which occupies space in Tower 1 of Cromwell’s 475 Victoria Avenue complex in Chatswood, has also expressed admiration for Cromwell’s ESG development.

Company CEO [name] said, “as an organisation dedicated to implementing actionable strategies that help positively shape the future of Australia – and the world – we’ve felt that Cromwell’s ESG strategy really aligns with our own values.”

“It’s refreshing to be headquartered in a building where the owner has made tangible changes to better the community in which we work and live – and has committed to doing so going forward.”

Earlier in 2024, global infrastructure consulting firm AECOM signed a seven-year lease extension – for 6,622 sqm of floorspace over two-and-a half levels – at the HQ North building in Fortitude Valley, citing Cromwell’s ESG sustainable upgrades and excellent facilities at the building as a determining factor in remaining at the location.

ESG Report

Cromwell’s FY24 ESG Report highlights the business’s ESG progress made during FY24. This includes:

  • Scope 1 emissions in Australia decreased by 24%, primarily due to electrification projects and continual improvement of building management practices.
  • Scope 2 emissions decreased by 58% through the purchase of GreenPower, a government-accredited renewable energy product, along with energy efficiency measures and the installation of additional on-site solar panels.
  • Scope 3 emissions in the Australian value chain decreased by 14% which represents all upstream and downstream activities. A portion of this decrease is linked to downstream leased assets as tenants benefitted from the shift to GreenPower.

Cromwell has also highlighted a focus on efficient resource utilisation and exploring opportunities in the transition to a low-carbon economy going forward. This approach aims to drive sustainable value creation and build resilience against climate risks for the business.

View the ESG Report

The full report can be found at www.cromwellpropertygroup.com/esg.

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