Sustainability Report 2005-2006
Department of the Environment and Water Resources, 2007
Canberra environmental performance
Energy
EN3: Direct energy use segmented by primary source-gas use
Goals 2005-06
Establish benchmark for gas usage for office operations- Raise energy efficiency issues with the building owner and identify opportunities for reducing gas consumption
Performance 2005-06 and trends
Gas use within the JGB increased for the 2005-06 period, to 6 260 674MJ for the department’s tenancy, at a cost of over $72 000. The EBB tenancy used 450 547MJ. Normalised by occupied floor space, the total usage represents a 17% increase over 2004-05, though when EBB data is included for the first time the change is 25%. The JGB building manager has cited the raising of the minimum thermostat setting, following repeated requests from both building tenants, as a primary cause. Loss of boiler efficiency due to wear and tear is also believed to influence performance.
Opportunities for increasing the efficiency of gas usage within the building have not been raised with the building owner, though constraints inherent in our position as a tenant limit our ability to implement initiatives to address performance. As all buildings use different combinations of gas, electricity and other fuels to provide climate control services, it is difficult to establish comparative figures for gas usage intensity.
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06* | Change* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total MJ | 3 215 198 | 5 354 628 | 6 711 221 | 25% |
| MJ/day | 12 809 | 21 333 | 26 738 | 25% |
| MJ/person/day | 13.5 | 18.4 | 22.4 | 22% |
| Area (m2) | 19 017 | 22 619 | 22 886 | 1% |
| MJ/m2/year | 169 | 237 | 293 | 24% |
| Staff # | 948 | 1161 | 1194 | 3% |
*includes EBB gas usage data for the first time.
Commentary
The burning of gas results in greenhouse gas emissions and consumes a non-renewable resource. Gas usage represents a major component of the department’s greenhouse gas footprint, and an increasingly significant one.
Gas is used by base building services primarily for climate control (heating and cooling) and as a tenant DEH cannot directly manage this area of energy use. Tenant-specific gas usage is calculated as a percentage of overall building use, based on the department’s net lettable area occupation.
Goals 2006-07
- Work with building owner to reduce gas usage by 5% below 2005-06 levels by 2006-07
- Identify buildings with comparable gas services and seek to establish a gas-intensity benchmark.
Related Indicators
Canberra Indicators
Other Indicators
Contents
- Sustainability Report 05-06
- Executive summary
- Vision and strategy
- Our organisation
- Governance
- Policy and influence
- Environmental performance
- Social performance
- Economic performance
- Report assurance statement
- Case studies
- GRI index
Key
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