News

Find out how Domain made the switch to GreenPower

Find out how Domain made the switch to GreenPower

Sustainability officer Sophia Sotriffer and office experience lead Penny Sandercock at Domain championed its switch to GreenPower. We asked Sophia a few questions about Domain’s shift. 

Thank you for completing your annual reporting

Thank you for completing your annual reporting

CitySwitch annual reporting is now closed. We're busy preparing the annual report.

Annual reporting begins in February 2023

Annual reporting begins in February 2023

The CitySwitch annual program reporting will begin in February 2023. Reporting will be open for around 4 weeks.

Meet the new CitySwitch program managers

Meet the new CitySwitch program managers

We are excited to announce that our Program Manager roles have been filled.

Renewables: Tell us how we can help you

Renewables: Tell us how we can help you

Is your organisation ready, or almost ready, to switch to 100% renewable energy?

Acknowledge your commitment to the net zero pathway

Take 5 mins to acknowledge the new minimum requirements. All existing signatories must complete the form.

CitySwitch Reporting

CitySwitch Reporting

CitySwitch is updating the reporting framework to align with the evolved program and net zero pathway.

CitySwitch YouTube Channel

CitySwitch YouTube Channel

Did you know we have a YouTube Channel?  Our CitySwitch YouTube channel has all our recent webinar recordings, and other relevant videos that may be of interest to those in a commercial office and interested in Sustainability. Check it out.

Industry News

WT Sustainability beats their own energy record

Source: The Fifth Estate

WT Sustainability already had Australia’s most energy-efficient office fitout, yet the company still found ways to reduce power use by a further 13 per cent. Director, Steve Hennessy explained to The Fifth Estate that the savings were made through discernment in the initial fitout that reduced both fitout costs and energy use and a series of fine-tuning that further improved energy performance, ...

Westpac named world’s most sustainable company

Source: The Fifth Estate  Westpac has been named the most sustainable company in the world in the 2014 Global 100 Index, a ranking of the top sustainable companies announced today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Concerns have been raised, however, that the organisation continues to lend to coal and gas projects. Westpac last year ranked 10th, and has moved up the listing with some strong sustainability achievements for 2013, ...

The Tenants and Landlords Guide to Happiness (chapter 5)

Source: The Fifth Estate

How hard can it be to get model lease clauses agreed for green leases? Don’t ask. Just be grateful that some valiant people have put in the hard yards and finally the industry has a great Christmas present and one that will endure in the years ahead. In this Chapter 5 of our Tenants and Landlords Guide to Happiness Lynne Blundell takes us through the issues that our legal eagles and owners and tenants ...

First NABERS data centre project certified

Source: The Fifth Estate

Fujitsu’s Noble Park data centre is the first to have been certified under the NABERS Energy for data centres tool, which was launched in February. The data centre received a 4 stars on the 6 star scale, choosing an Infrastructure rating, which assesses the efficiency of the building services, such as cooling and lighting.

NSW government launches co/trigen guide for business

Source: The Fifth Estate

The NSW government has released a guide and tool so businesses can  determine whether a cogeneration or trigeneration system is financially and technically viable. Launching the guide, NSW Environment Minister Robyn Parker said the Energy Saver Cogeneration feasibility guide was the first major project delivered under the Government’s Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which has a goal to save 16,000 gigawatt-hours of energy a ...

Efficiencies increase profits and give a competitive edge

Source: EEX.gov.au

Companies that take energy efficiency seriously save up to three times the energy of those that don’t. That’s a finding of ClimateWorks Australia’s ‘Special report on factors influencing large industrial energy efficiency’. In this third and final article on the reports, we look at the special report, a snapshot of 47 large energy users on what motivates them to take up energy efficiency activities – and what holds them back. Energy, sustainability and site managers were interviewed on their ...

LEDs: here’s how to spot the differences

Source: Lighting Council Australia  

Light emitting diode, or LED, products are rapidly becoming useful alternatives to traditional light sources, but buyers need to do their homework before investing in them because few have undergone rigorous testing in real-life settings over a prolonged period of time, due to their comparatively early stage of development. There is also a wide variation in product quality and how effectively they may light a space. Some lower ...

Better Buildings Partnership reveals multi-million-dollar energy...

Source: The Fifth Estate

Sydney’s Better Buildings Partnership has revealed it is exceeding its emissions reduction targets, cutting commercial office emissions by 25 per cent since its inception and saving over $25 million in energy bills. The BBP, an alliance of commercial landlords representing over 50 per cent of office floor space across Sydney’s CBD, was established to improve the ...

Victoria announce energy efficiency funding for commercial buildings

Source: The Fifth Estate  

The Victorian government has announced $3.59 million in funding to improve the energy efficiency of the state’s commercial office buildings. The Smarter Resources Smarter Business – Energy Efficient Office Buildings program will provide matched grant funding of between $20,000 and $150,000 to mid-tier commercial office building owners to deliver energy savings. Through the program the government hopes to ...

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Events

Renewable Electricity Procurement Workshops

Renewable Electricity Procurement Workshops

CitySwitch has partnered with Business Renewables Centre Australia (BRC-A), to host a series of ‘how to’ workshops specifically for smaller energy buyer companies looking to decarbonise their business via renewable electricity procurement.



View event

Latest case study

Case study: Frasers Property and healthy buildings

Case study: Frasers Property and healthy buildings

This case study looks at how Frasers Property Australia are creating places that support healthier lives.



View resource

Tag Cloud

CitySwitch Signatory of the Year and New Signatory Awards - category judging criteria

  • Delivering outcomes as demonstrated by an improved or maintained current NABERS Energy rating and achieved energy savings* (up to 28 points)
  • Implementing one or more energy saving initiatives (up to 10 points)
  • Demonstrating leadership by undertaking innovative, creative or progressive office energy efficiency activities (up to 10 points)
  • Engagement of staff/ customers/suppliers and/or stakeholders to educate and create market transformation (up to 10 points)
  • Participation in CitySwitch local program activities (up to 10 points).
Note, new Signatories submitting for New Signatory of the Year Award need only complete an indicative rating – all other submissions must be accredited.

CitySwitch Partnership of the Year Award - category judging criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Submitted projects should:

  • Involve more than one registered company 
  • Demonstrate that they are  innovative and over and above “business as usual”
  • Demonstrate that they catalyse “market transformation” and or “address a market barrier”
  • Deliver a reduction in energy consumption and carbon emissions within the built environment 

Judging Criteria

  • Delivering outcomes as demonstrated by an improved or maintained current NABERS Energy rating and achieved energy savings* (up to 14 points)
  • Implementing one or more energy saving initiatives (up to 10 points)
  • Demonstrating leadership by undertaking innovative, creative or progressive office energy efficiency activities (up to 17 points)
  • Engagement of staff/ customers/suppliers and/or stakeholders to educate and create market transformation (up to 17 points)
  • Participation in CitySwitch local program activities (up to 10 points)
  • The submitting entity MUST be a CitySwitch Signatory
Note, Signatories submitting for the Partnership of the Year Award may submit an accredited NABERS tenancy, whole building or base building rating.

It’s easy and free to join the program. Your good-will commitment to the program is an acknowledgement of the business sector’s role in
contributing to environmental sustainability and your intention to reduce your own energy consumption and associated carbon emissions.

As part of this, Signatories to the program commit to achieve an accredited NABERS Energy tenancy rating (between 4 and 6 stars) and
work with CitySwitch to improve their tenancy’s environmental performance.

Find out more about how obtaining a NABERS Energy rating ensures you can benchmark your performance, better manage your progress
over time and promote your star rating achievement.