CIBSE Certification and the Better Buildings Partnership hosted an exclusive invite-only NABERS UK Breakfast Briefing at AECOM’s London offices recently. The event brought together leading voices from across the built environment to discuss the latest developments in the NABERS UK scheme, its growing impact on real-world building performance and to mark just over a year of CIBSE’s administration of the scheme in the UK.
The morning began with a warm welcome from Kieran O’Brien, Director of CIBSE Certification, followed by an overview of CIBSE’s role in the scheme and its broader energy efficiency work from CIBSE CEO Ruth Carter.
Ruth also shared that CIBSE will be applying NABERS Energy for Offices to its new head office at Saffron Hill, London. This will enable us to measure and rate the building’s energy performance using real operational data.
CIBSE fully intends to publicly disclose its NABERS UK rating once available. The insights gained will support a targeted refurbishment and improvement plan aimed at lowering both our carbon footprint and operational energy use. We will use ongoing NABERS UK ratings to monitor our progress and drive continuous improvement, just as we encourage others to do.
By publicly declaring our rating, we demonstrate our commitment to the scheme not only as its administrator, but as an international Institution that is part of the built environment, holding ourselves to the same standards we promote.
A highlight of the briefing was the keynote address by Carlos Flores, Director of NABERS, who travelled from Australia to share global insights on how the scheme is evolving and driving change internationally. His presentation provided valuable context on the success of NABERS in Australia and what that could mean for the UK market as adoption increases.
The event also featured a case study presentation on 11–12 Wellington Place, a standout example of how the NABERS UK scheme is applied from design through to operation. Speakers Brad McHale (Arup), Miles Jones (Federated Hermes), and Andrew Jones (NG Bailey), and David Freestone (CBRE) shared practical takeaways from their involvement in the project.
A panel discussion followed, exploring the use of NABERS UK in operational buildings. Chaired by Carlos Flores, the panel included expert contributions from Malcolm Hanna (LGIM), Peter Williams (Stanhope), and Ikram Oyebanjo (Royal London Asset Management). The conversation offered honest reflections on challenges and successes in applying NABERS UK post-development.
The event closed with informal networking over breakfast, providing an opportunity for attendees to continue the conversation and share perspectives in a relaxed setting.
This timely and thought-provoking briefing underlined the continued momentum behind NABERS UK and the role of performance-based ratings in improving energy outcomes across the commercial real estate sector.