By Tom Handford MRICS
Overview
We are pleased to confirm that, as of August 2026, Develeco are now accredited NABERS UK Energy for Offices Assessors.
NABERS UK is fast becoming one of the most credible ways for owners, occupiers and investors to understand how a commercial building actually performs, rather than how it was designed to perform. As more of our clients look to evidence real operational energy performance for ESG reporting, green finance and asset value, NABERS UK accreditation allows us to support that work directly, in house.
What is NABERS UK?
NABERS UK is a rating scheme that measures the actual, in use energy performance of commercial buildings, most commonly offices. Buildings are awarded a star rating from 1 to 6, based on 12 months of real metered energy consumption data rather than modelled or design stage assumptions.
This is the key difference between NABERS UK and an EPC. An EPC is a regulatory, asset based rating calculated from a standardised model of the building's design. NABERS UK measures what is actually happening once a building is in operation and occupied, giving a far more honest picture of performance. It is this focus on measured, verified outcomes that has made NABERS one of the most trusted rating systems for building owners, investors and occupiers.
Origins in Australia
NABERS, which stands for the National Australian Built Environment Rating System, was developed in Australia in the late 1990s by the New South Wales Government. It has been developed and administered by the New South Wales Government for around 25 years, becoming one of the most successful initiatives for reducing energy use and carbon emissions in non-residential buildings globally.
In Australia, NABERS has become deeply embedded in the commercial property market. It is common for office leases to specify a minimum NABERS rating, and the scheme is widely credited with driving significant, measurable reductions in building energy use across the Australian commercial sector over the past two decades.
How NABERS Came to the UK
NABERS UK is an adaptation of this Australian programme, brought to the UK through work pioneered by the Better Buildings Partnership via its Design for Performance initiative, in partnership with NABERS. That work focused on building market interest and demand, establishing a UK scheme administrator, and developing the technical infrastructure needed to make the scheme workable for UK buildings. NABERS UK launched in November 2020, marking the scheme's first move outside Australia and New Zealand.
BRE (the Building Research Establishment) was originally appointed as the UK scheme administrator. In 2024, administration of the scheme passed to CIBSE (the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers), who now run the day to day operation of NABERS UK, overseen by a steering committee made up of CIBSE, the Better Buildings Partnership, and NABERS on behalf of the New South Wales Government.
Since launch, uptake in the UK has grown steadily. Toronto Square in Leeds became the first office building to be verified under the NABERS UK Energy for Offices scheme in July 2022, achieving a 4.5 star rating, and 11 Belgrave Road in London went on to achieve the UK's first NABERS UK Design for Performance rating of 5.5 stars.
How NABERS UK Can Help Our Clients
For our clients, NABERS UK accreditation gives us another route to help answer a simple but important question: how is your building actually performing?
Evidence based performance: because ratings are based on 12 months of real metered data, a NABERS UK rating tells clients how a building genuinely performs in use, not how it was designed to perform on paper.
ESG and reporting confidence: a verified, independently assessed rating gives owners and investors a robust, third party benchmark to support ESG reporting, sustainability disclosures and stakeholder conversations.
Asset value and green finance: NABERS UK ratings are increasingly recognised by lenders, investors and occupiers, helping to protect and enhance both rental and capital values, and supporting the case for green finance.
Design for Performance: where a rating target is set at design stage, NABERS UK Design for Performance helps ensure the gap between design intent and in use performance is identified and closed, rather than discovered after handover.
Portfolio benchmarking: for clients with multiple assets, NABERS UK ratings provide a consistent, comparable way to benchmark performance across a portfolio and prioritise where investment will have the greatest impact.
NABERS UK brings a simple idea, tested and proven over 25 years in Australia, to the UK commercial property market: rate buildings on how they actually perform, not how they are designed to perform. As pressure grows on owners, developers and occupiers to evidence real progress towards net zero, that distinction matters more than ever.
With Develeco now accredited NABERS UK Assessors, we can bring this measured, evidence based approach directly to our clients, alongside our existing energy and sustainability services. Whether you are considering a NABERS UK rating for the first time, setting a Design for Performance target, or looking to understand how your building compares across your wider portfolio, we can help you chart the right route.
