Sixty-seven property portfolios have participated in the 2025 NABERS Sustainable Portfolio Index (SPI) – reaffirming the property sector’s commitment to accountability, efficiency and environmental performance.
Now in its seventh year, the NABERS SPI ranks office, shopping centre and, for the first time, hotel portfolios, based on NABERS ratings for energy, water, waste and indoor environment quality.
“The NABERS SPI 2025 shows how leaders in Australia’s property sector are transforming targets into tangible results,” says Magali Wardle, NABERS Head of Market Development.
“Whether they’re fine-tuning decades-old office buildings or benchmarking entire hotel portfolios, the leaders are showing how measuring performance translates into more efficient, attractive and more commercially valuable assets.”
NABERS, the National Australian Built Environment Rating System, was established in 1999. Over the past two decades, buildings rated with NABERS have saved almost $2 billion in energy bills and cut 13.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
Strong results across 67 portfolios
The NABERS SPI 2025 includes 30 companies representing 67 portfolios:
- 48 office portfolios
- 16 shopping centre portfolios
- 3 hotel portfolios
The total number of participating assets has grown to over 500, confirming the SPI’s growing coverage and value to industry stakeholders.
Hotel portfolios join the SPI for the first time
The big story in 2025 is the entry of hotels into the SPI, marking a major milestone for the NABERS program.
CapitaLand and the Schwartz Family Company are the first hotel operators to participate in the NABERS SPI, with around 6,000 rooms between them.
Magid Gerges, Director Design & Technical Services for CapitaLand says: “As one of the early adopters of NABERS ratings for hotels we chose NABERS because it gave us insight on the operational performance of our buildings and reflects our commitment to sustainability leadership and driving innovation in hospitality.”
The SPI allows CapitaLand to see how its buildings perform at a portfolio level, collaborate with industry peers and set measurable benchmarks, Magid adds. “We’ve always been big supporters of NABERS – we were the first hotel operator to achieve a NABERS rating,” says Paul Briggs, Sustainability & Projects Coordinator with Schwartz.
“We like to be first – not just to lead the pack, but to show what’s possible. With solar, LED retrofits and smart building management systems, we’ve proven it pays to invest early. And NABERS gives us the granular insight to keep improving every year.”
With the Australian Government’s new accommodation policy now in effect – requiring employees to consider NABERS Energy ratings when booking hotels – NABERS ratings are becoming a commercial differentiator, Paul adds.
“It won’t take long before hotel owners realise they’ll lose government business without a NABERS rating.”
Two office portfolios lead the way
The NABERS SPI 2025 Office Energy Index includes 428 rated assets, up from 414 last year, covering 8.19 million sqm or approximately 26% of the national office market.
The top two portfolios in NABERS Office Energy are:
- Quality Green Group – 6.0 stars
- Walker Corporation Parramatta Square – 5.6 stars.
“A five-way tie for third in NABERS Office Energy reflects not just a tightly contested field, but the shared commitment across the sector to lead on sustainable performance,” Magali Wardle notes.
Participating in the SPI for the first time, Quality Green Group (QGG) owns three of the four highest-rated NABERS Energy buildings in the Illawarra, including the NSW SES headquarters — the region’s first 6 star NABERS Energy asset.
“We’ve used NABERS as a long-term tool to drive performance. We manage our buildings ourselves, monitor the data daily, and genuinely care about outcomes,” says Daniel Grozdanov, Group Manager, QGG. “It’s not just about efficiency or emissions. High NABERS ratings have helped us attract tenants, reduce outgoings and take a sustainable long-term view.”
In 2024, QGG acquired its first asset outside the Illawarra, a North Ryde office building. “It’s already 5 stars, but we see low-cost upgrades — like a new building management system and solar — that can push it to a 6 star NABERS Energy rating. It's much cheaper than building new and delivers real value for our tenants.”
Other Office sector leaders
- Office Water: Lendlease (Barangaroo International Towers) leads with 5.9 stars, followed by Charter Hall Long WALE Fund (5.4).
- Indoor Environment: Charter Hall Wholesale Property Trust tops the Index with 6 stars, followed by Brookfield Property Partners, Lendlease Barangaroo International Towers and Cbus Property (5.9) in a three-way tie for second place.
- Office Waste: Rest Nominees leads at 4.9 stars, with Cbus Property in second place (4.7) closely behind.
Standout performance in shopping centres
This year’s NABERS SPI Shopping Centre Energy Index includes 16 portfolios. Notably, 13 portfolios disclosed with 100% Energy coverage, up from 7 last year – the highest full participation to date.
The top performers in Shopping Centre Energy category are:
- QIC Real Estate Active Retail Property Fund – 5.9 stars
- Vision Super Local Government Property Fund, Cbus Property and Lendlease – Australian Prime Property Fund Retail – 5.0 stars.
In the Shopping Centre Water category, the top two performers were:
- LaSalle Investment Management BVK Global – 4.5 stars
- Vision Super Local Government Property Fund – 4.3 stars.
Three shopping centre portfolios reached 100% carbon neutral coverage, earning them the credential of Carbon Neutral Portfolio for Shopping Centres. They are:
- Cbus Property
- QIC Active Retail Property Fund
- Local Government Property Fund (Vision Super).
A national benchmark for climate-ready buildings
The NABERS SPI continues to evolve with new data points and user-friendly features. Among this year’s additions is the Renewable Energy Indicator (REI) percentage, which makes it easier to identify portfolios leading the way in renewable energy adoption.
QIC’s Active Retail Property Fund boasts the highest REI percentage overall, with 97.46% renewable energy usage – topping both the Shopping Centre category and the full index.
Charter Hall’s DVP portfolio secured second place with 89.24% and leads the Office category.
Electrification of assets also stood out in this year’s SPI results, with four portfolios from office and shopping centre funds achieving 99% electrification. These were:
- LaSalle Investment Management BVK Global
- QIC Australian Core Plus Fund
- QIC Active Retail Property Fund
- Castlerock Services Australia Fund.
“The SPI isn’t just about who ranks highest. It gives asset owners a clear picture of where they stand, and where we can go together. Every portfolio that discloses performance is contributing to Australia’s climate goals and helping to deliver more efficient buildings,” Magali concludes.
Check out the NABERS Sustainable Portfolios Index 2025 to explore the full data dashboard.