On 25 November 2025, the BPCC and engineering firm Cundall held a Real Estate & Construction Breakfast in Warsaw, looking at the potential for NABERS (the National Australian Built Environment Rating System) to transform the Polish property market.
Speakers from Cundall, Michał Wójcik, Przemysław Pałuszyński, and Wojeciech Stec, detailed how NABERS differs from existing certification schemes such as BREEAM or LEED, by measuring actual, metered energy usage rather than relying on design promises. NABERS has to be certified annually, giving landlords and facility managers the incentive to continuously improve performance.
There is a need to close the ‘performance gap’, the significant difference between predicted and actual energy use in certified buildings. NABERS – already a proven driver of efficiency in Australia and – since 2020 in the UK – addresses this by:
- Mandating annual audits: a building’s rating (1 to 6 stars) is based on real data and must be reassessed yearly, ensuring continuous operational improvement
- Design for performance (DfP): this methodology requires complex energy modelling and independent review from the design stage to set achievable operational energy targets.
- Driving accountability: NABERS forces collaboration between designers, contractors and tenants, and supports the use of green leases placing energy budget limits on tenants.
Since 2012, the average NABERS rating for Australian offices has risen from 3.6 to 4.9 stars, with emissions falling from over 160 to under 60 kg of CO2 per square metre.
Implications for design and value
- Higher value: experience shows that buildings with high NABERS ratings command higher rents and lease faster, proving that operational transparency pays off.
- Design changes: Designers must reconsider features like expansive, fully-glazed façades, which, while aesthetically popular, can negatively impact energy performance and thermal comfort, potentially costing a building one full star.
- Long-term savings: While implementing DfP adds complexity to the design phase, it is significantly cheaper than the retrofitting required for seven- or eight-year-old buildings that are already failing to meet the modern low energy and low carbon standards.
The consensus was that while introducing NABERS to Poland presents challenges – such as the current lack of a reliable benchmark for the Polish existing building stock – the rigour and transparency of this methodology offer the only viable path for the Polish real estate sector to achieve genuine, long-term operational sustainability.
