August 2021 - Bay of Plenty Business News

16 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS August 2021
NEWSBRIEF
Council purchases
land as part of
marine precinct
strategic review
Tauranga City Council is set to buy back
a key area of land at Sulphur Point as
growth plans for the Tauranga Marine
Precinct continue to be developed.
Council sold the land at 6 Cross Road to
Pacific 7 Ltd in 2016 to help fund the development
of the marine servicing hub ‘Vessel
Works’ – a council entity that opened in 2018
and provides a marine servicing facility for
commercial and recreational boats.
Recently, Tauranga City Council had the
opportunity to repurchase this site.
Tauranga City Council General Manager
of Corporate Services Paul Davidson says
“the opportunity to buy was taken as it allows
time to review how changes to the ownership
of this landholding may impact the wider
precinct and its users”.
“A strategic review of the marine precinct
is currently underway, so it made sense for
us to purchase the land while the review is
completed this year. This will also allow
progress to be made on other future land sale
opportunities as part of planned future development,”
says Paul. “The goal of the strategic
review is to ensure the marine precinct
is developed and best positioned to deliver
benefits for the local industry and the wider
community in the future.”
Marine precinct users will be included in
this strategic review. “We value the stakeholders
in our local marine industry, and we
are committed to working alongside them to
understand how our goals may align in the
future,” says Paul
Greener leases
There is significant dialogue happening in the office sector currently around ESG – environmental,
social and governance – and how these three pillars or performance indicators are used to assess a
company or investment project to determine its sustainability.
Office tenants are increasingly
seeking to adopt
a strategic approach to
sustainability, given expectations
about carbon footprints and the
balance sheet benefits that energy
efficiencies can bring to a business
operation.
With 40 percent of carbon
emissions coming from the built
environment, the “E” component
of ESG and commercial property
are firmly in the spotlight and the
corporate world is transitioning
to a lower carbon, more sustainable,
and more resilient future
where people and community are
paramount.
Cost-effectiveness and
energy-optimisation
Having an energy management
plan based around cost-effectiveness
and energy-optimisation
is central to a business’ sustainability
goals and Steve Rendall,
Bayleys national director office
leasing, said “greener” leases
are becoming more prevalent
– particular among corporate
occupiers.
“Today’s commercial property
occupants and their employees
expect landlords to take
meaningful steps to improve the
sustainability footprints of the
building they occupy.
“As awareness of climate
change increases and the built
environment comes under greater
scrutiny, landlords will be under
growing pressure to be proactive
in the sustainability space.
“Larger public sector and
corporate occupants are depending
on measurable and reliable
sustainability data for reporting
back to stakeholders, so landlords
and/or their facility managers,
will need to be across the
terminology, the standards and
the expectations.”
Rendall said conversations
around sustainability need to be
upfront at the time of establishing
or renegotiating a commercial
office lease, with clear definitions
around who is responsible
for what.
“The more proactive tenants
are, the more likely the sustainability
narrative will get traction.
“Occupiers need to ensure that
the leases they sign reflect the
sustainability principles that are
important to their business, their
employees and stakeholders.”
The Covid-19 scenario has
heightened the need for buildings
to be healthy places for people to
work in. Office occupiers need to
be able to attract and retain staff
and commit to the health and
wellness of its employees, while
doing the right thing by its community,
and the environment.
Issues for the switched on
landlord
A switched on landlord will need
to consider many factors contributing
to a building’s energy
efficiency, from building design,
operation and maintenance, to
building management and occupant
behaviours.
Energy performance needs
to be trackable, measurable and
tenants and landlords will need
to work closely to achieve a common
goal of energy efficiency.
New Zealand’s goal is to
attain net-zero carbon emissions
by 2050, so the government has
tasked itself to make the public
sector carbon-neutral by 2025,
and to be an exemplar for the private
sector to follow suit.
All government departments
and ministries are now
required to measure their emissions
and offset the ones they
cannot remove by 2025, and to
only occupy buildings meeting
energy-efficient thresholds with
NABERSNZ ratings.
Paula Bennett, Bayleys’ director
strategic advisory, said there
is now a clear opportunity for the
government to lead on the sustainability
front and to be definitive
in their expectations.
“More can be, and needs to be,
done as we seek to lower emissions
in New Zealand.”
www.bayleys.co.nz/workplace/
office/insights
At Bayleys, we believe relationships are what businesses are built on and how they
succeed. We understand that to maximise the return on your property you need:
Professional property management
A business partner that understands your views and goals
Contact the Bayleys Tauranga Commercial Property Management team today.
Bayleys Tauranga
Commercial Property Management
07 579 0609
jan.cooney@bayleystauranga.co.nz
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