Some of Australia’s commercial buildings could become more energy efficient as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed late last year by Australian Carbon Trust, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Eureka Funds Management.
The tripartite agreement will see the development and delivery of an Environmental Upgrade Loan program for energy efficiency retrofits of commercial buildings.
The loans will initially be rolled out in Melbourne with the aim of substantially reducing energy usage, energy costs and carbon emissions.
The NAB Environmental Upgrade Loan is an innovative financing model, which will be delivered in close partnership with the City of Melbourne through its $2 billion program to retrofit 1,200 buildings.
This retrofit program aims to provide participating City of Melbourne businesses with an improved energy performance of up to 38 per cent and a significant reduction in energy costs. It will also create 8,000 new green jobs. The program is expected to be operational early this year.
The Australian Carbon Trust will contribute up to $10.25 million to the Environmental Upgrade Loan program alongside funding from NAB and Eureka Funds Management, which is anticipated to grow to over $200 million in the next two years.
The program has the potential to grow beyond the 1,200 buildings project and fund similar programs around the nation.