AUT: Lowest energy intensity

10 Sep, 2020
 
Lowest energy intensity of NZ universities
Source: Shutterstock

AUT has rated as one of the lowest energy intensity universities in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

The results come from the latest Tertiary Education Facilities Management Association (TEFMA) annual benchmarking survey. The survey gathers comparative costs and performance data for a range of facilities management operations in Australia, Hong Kong and NZ.

The results of the survey are shared with TEFMA member organisations and are confidential but based on the most recent survey it was revealed that there is only one other university in Australia that has lower energy intensity than AUT. But AUT is the star performer for energy intensity among NZ universities.

Other results include:

  • For NZ, AUT has the lowest energy consumption per equivalent full time student and full time employee.
  • AUT has the best space utilisation in NZ and is in the upper quartile for space utilisation for Australia and NZ. Our low energy intensity is due to having little wasted space.
  • AUT has the lowest carbon emissions (kg CO2 per sq. metre of gross floor area) in NZ.

Associate Director Building Services, Warren Smith, says AUT should be proud of these results. “It shows we’re moving in the right direction with reducing energy consumption and our overall carbon footprint,” he says.

“But our work is not done. It’s an ongoing task to reduce our energy intensity and not something we should ever let-up on.” It’s not just a job for Building Services in the Estates Team either he says.

“Everyone plays a role in reducing the amount of energy we use, whether it’s remembering to turn off lights, shutting down PCs every night or switching off unnecessary equipment.”