New Zealand: Building Act changes introduced to protect the environment

Building Act, construction, environment, new zealand, sustainability,

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New Zealand Government takes action to reduce waste and lower emissions from the building and construction sector with significant Building Act amendments.

“This Government is proud to put the environment at the heart of how New Zealand builds. By enabling mandatory energy performance rating requirements for buildings and waste minimisation plans for construction and demolition projects, these proposals will help us to build a better future for generations of New Zealanders,” says Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods.       

“We know to expect more severe weather events, such as heatwaves and flooding due to climate change, and we know that it will impact tenants and building owners. These proposals provide a clear signal that considering climate resilience and the emissions impact of our buildings is a core responsibility of the sector,” says Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods.       

“Energy performance ratings are already mandatory for some buildings in Australia and are popular with many building owners and the wider sector because they help improve understanding of energy use while acting as an extra incentive for making better energy efficiency decisions,” says Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods. 

“Energy performance ratings could help lower energy bills and reduce costs by providing building users with the tools to manage peak electricity demand better. A higher rating could even increase a property’s value or rentability. One study found an 8 per cent increase in asset value of energy performance rated buildings over those without ratings,” says Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods.       

The Bill also proposes mandatory waste minimisation plans being required during building and construction activities.

“By some estimates, construction waste accounts for up to half of all the waste which goes to landfill nationally. Having a reduction plan in place will encourage us to confront the amount of waste produced on-site, design with waste in mind, reuse building materials, incentivise recycling, and increase the uptake of local waste diversion schemes,” says Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods.       

“Reducing waste can also deliver cost savings during the build process by reducing over-ordering of building materials and, in turn, reducing waste disposal costs. An Auckland University of Technology study found that around $31,000 of building materials are wasted in every house build,” says Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods.       

“Designing with waste in mind and reducing the over-ordering of building supplies will also help mitigate short-term challenges such as supply chain constraints as it frees up building materials rather than converting them to waste,” says Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods.       

“These waste minimisation plan requirements support the Government’s work to transform the waste system with a new national waste strategy, as well as our investment in construction and demolition resource recovery infrastructure,” says Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods.       

Early analysis indicates that these proposals could support emissions reductions of 12.6 Mt CO2-e between now and 2050. This equates to nearly 19,000 plane trips between Wellington and Auckland annually until 2050.

Source: © Crown copyright

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