What is biobanking?

Biobanking is a market-based mechanism for offsetting biodiversity impacts from development.

Biodiversity offsets are actions taken outside a particular development site which compensate for biodiversity impacts of the development. They should be distinguished from “mitigation measures”, which are typically actions which can be undertaken to reduce the impacts of a development.

Biodiversity offsets are intended to address those impacts which cannot be adequately reduced through avoidance or mitigation. They are likely to be used most commonly where substantial land clearing is required for a project, so that the impacts of the land clearing cannot be avoided or adequately mitigated.

In the past, biodiversity offsetting arrangements usually have involved the developer either buying land and handing it over to the government for conservation (eg. inclusion in a national park) or entering into a short-term arrangement (ie. paying a sum of money to the Government) or a long-term arrangement (ie. involvement in environmental management of land) to provide for the conservation of land outside the development site.

The biobanking regime is different. It allows:

• the owner of land with biodiversity values to generate biodiversity credits by committing to, and carrying out, in perpetuity, a series of biodiversity management actions on that land, which are agreed with the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW); and
• a developer to purchase the credits generated by the land owner so as to offset the biodiversity impacts of the developer’s project.

It is increasingly common for development approvals to contain conditions which require biodiversity offsetting. NSW planning legislation allows for the imposition of approval conditions which require biobanking as the means of offsetting biodiversity impacts for a project, if the project proponent agrees.

How does it work?

A land owner who wants to establish a biobank site on its land, in order to develop biodiversity credits, will need to:

• undertake an assessment of the land to determine (among other things):
• the biodiversity values of the land and the management actions which the land owner will undertake to enhance those values; and
• the number and categories of biodiversity credits which will be created as a result of undertaking those management actions; and
• enter into a biobanking agreement with the Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, which (among other things) specifies the number and categories of credits which will be created for the land, what actions the land owner must take to create them, and how those actions will be funded. The biobanking can be registered on the relevant land title and, once registered, runs with the land, with a view to ensuring the biodiversity conservation actions are maintained in perpetuity.

A developer who wants to use biobanking to offset the biodiversity impacts of its development will need to:

• obtain a biobanking statement from DECCW for that development, which confirms the number and categories of credits, and any other on-site measures, which are required for the development to be eligible for biobanking;
• enter into an agreement with a land owner to purchase enough of the appropriate credits to satisfy the requirements in the developer’s biobanking statement; and
• once the developer has purchased the credits, retire them by notifying DECCW, who will then cancel the credits to prevent their reuse.

What are biodiversity credits?

Biodiversity credits are one of two classes – species credits or ecosystem credits. Within these broad classes, credits have various categories for different species and different ecosystems or habitats. A person who wants to buy credits to offset the impacts of his/her development will need to make sure he/she can find credits which are compatible with the impacts from his/her development.

Land owners will determine the number and type of credits they can generate, and developers will determine the number and type of credits they will need, using DECCW’s Biobanking Assessment Methodology. The Methodology is very technical document.

How are biodiversity credits priced?

Pricing credits can be a complex exercise. A land owner will need to work out matters such as the net present value of the biodiversity management actions it needs to take, the administrative costs of obtaining the credits (including the assessment process and DECCW application fees), the impact of the biobanking constraints on the value of the land, and the return the land owner wants to make on the sale of credits. The Australian Tax Office has provided various rulings in respect of the biobanking scheme, with a view to making the scheme tax-effective.

DECCW maintains registers of land owners’ biobanking agreements, developers’ biobanking statements, land owner expressions of interest for biobanking assessments, biodiversity credits which have been created, and biobanking transactions. This should facilitate biobanking transactions, by giving potential transacting parties some key information they need to identify each other.

What are the benefits of biobanking?

DECCW claims that biobanking offers the following benefits for developers:

• it can reduce costs and time associated with biodiversity assessments;
• it provides a transparent and consistent rule-based approach for determining offsets, enabling offset requirements to be assessed even in the initial stages of project design;
• it allows credit requirements to be estimated and purchased at any stage of the project proposal;
• it enables offset sites to be managed by the owner of a biobank site rather than by the developer; and
• it enables greater flexibility in project management and costs.

Biobanking offers advantages for land owners as well, by offering them an opportunity to realise value from land which may not otherwise be capable of development, given its biodiversity values.

Why haven’t developers used the biobanking scheme more?

So far, only one biobanking agreement has been registered on the DECCW register. That provided for a variety of species and ecosystem credits. The credits were purchased and have been retired. Apart from this, there have been no trades in biodiversity credits since biobanking began.

There could be a number of reasons for this. Possible reasons include:

• the difficulty in establishing a market price for credits, making it difficult for developers to determine whether biobanking is more cost-effective than other forms of biodiversity offsetting;
• the difficulty in identifying credits which are sufficiently compatible with the credits a developer needs in order to make a trade; and
• the level of up-front investment (likely to be tens of thousands of dollars) which a land owner would need to make in order to have a biobanking agreement and identify credits for sale.

Developers could address these issues to some extent, by themselves finding potential biobanking sites and facilitating biobanking assessments and agreements, and so providing credits for them to purchase. They can get some help from the expressions of interest register on the DECCW website. However, this could require significant time and financial investment from a developer.

So what’s happening with biobanking?

DECCW issued a revised draft Biobanking Assessment Methodology in October and November, for public comment. It was presented as a simpler and more efficient methodology, which should promote greater use of biobanking. DECCW is currently evaluating submissions on the draft Methodology.

It is also important to determine whether, if approval for a project is required under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 because of impacts on threatened species, the Commonwealth will accept biobanking as an appropriate biodiversity offsetting measure. The Commonwealth Government is likely to consider this on a case-by-case basis.

Environment and Planning Insights | Biobanking – can you bank on it? | Clayton Utz.

Google now do monitoring and reporting of household/business energy use in a tool called PowerMeter http://www.google.com/powermeter/.  Google have made the service free and the programming interface for devices freely available (so it’s not locked into Google).

Google PowerMeter is a free energy monitoring tool that helps you save energy and money. Using energy information provided by utility smart meters and energy monitoring devices, Google PowerMeter enables you to view your home’s energy consumption from anywhere online.

It seems there are now firms in Australia selling hardware which will link with Google PowerMeter available from SmartNow

The EnviR from SmartNow can be connected to a computer using the optional USB cable, enabling you to analyse your power consumption data in more detail and help you identify particular times or days when your power use is higher.

Additionally,  The EnviR from SmartNow can be connected to an Internet Router using the optional Bridge to upload your data direct to the internet, so you can view your power consumption on a remote computer or your Smart Phone without having your computer running at home, and monitor your energy consumption wherever you are, with Google PowerMeter.

Get Ready For The Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Scheme

The implementation of the Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Scheme is imminent following the recent passing of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010.

Recap of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Scheme
The fundamentals of the Scheme were developed in July 2009 to ensure that meaningful energy efficiency information is available to buyers and lessees at the point of sale, lease and sub-lease of office space with a nett lettable area (NLA) greater than 2,000 m2.

Subsequently the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 was passed by the Australian Parliament on 24 June 2010 with the requirements to disclose energy efficiency information to commence on the 1st November 2010. Some key changes to the initial legislation have been adopted.

What are the key changes to the Legislation?
The final legislation includes a number of key changes from that proposed in July 2009:

• Changes to the transitional period;
• Delaying the tenancy lighting assessment; and
• Reducing the maximum penalties (the new bill reduces the penalty payable per day for certain contraventions).

What is the Transitional Period?
The transitional period will apply for the first twelve months of the scheme (i.e. from the 1st November 2010 to 30th October 2011); during this time a valid National Australian Built Environmental Rating System (NABERS) energy base or whole building rating obtained up until the end of the transition period can be disclosed instead of a full Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC).

Following are some of the key features of Harmony 9

Design and construction

The house has a highly flexible design, to allow the house to meet the changing needs of modern occupants. The ground floor, for instance, allows a future main bedroom and ensuite to be added, and internal glass panels provide privacy and separation in the living spaces when desired. First floor bedrooms can also be joined to create informal living spaces.
The house can passively regulate its temperature – using sunshine, shading and cross ventilation so effectively that it requires almost no additional heating or cooling. The small amount of energy required by the home will be less than or equal to the amount generated by solar panels mounted on the roof.

Construction started with a 100 per cent recycled concrete slab, which underwent a six month curing period. The unique recycled concrete slab was the first of its kind in Australia and was another pioneering feature of this innovative home, Mirvac said.

There is very high wall and ceiling insulation.

A “reverse brick veneer” construction with bricks on the inside and the timber frame on the outside – the heavy-weight materials inside the home create internal mass and stabilise the core temperature

North facing living zones and skylights maximise natural light internally. Windows with correct shading and locations maximises cross ventilation.

The spine of bluestone wall acts as a thermal battery. During summer it is protected from direct sunlight and helps maintain a comfortable house temperature. In winter the same thermal mass can store the heat from the sun or heating to release it at night helping the home stay warm.

Highly insulated external walls using R 5.0 batts and R 8.0 Glass wool in the roof space. Internal walls consist of R 2.5 Glass wool insulation

Energy

Computer modelling shows the house will use no more than 27 megajoules a square metre annually, compared with a 5 Star home which uses 165 megajoules/sq m a year. It rates 9.2 Stars, with forecast energy use of only 21.9 megajoules/sq m a year.

Eco-Vision electronic smart metering system indicates water, electricity and gas usage providing the occupants with feedback about their consumption patterns.

Hot water Service is supplied by a  Rheem solar hot water system 80 per cent efficient, gas boosted.

LED (light emitting diodes) or compact fluorescent light fittings are used throughout the home to ensure minimum electricity use for lighting output.

Solar Cells 3.6kw system, located on the roof and the façade as sun shading devices.

Savings

A study modelling household energy and water use conducted using the Moreland Council STEPS rating tool indicated the Harmony 9 home will achieve  cost reductions when compared to the average Victorian home, of $1,200 per year on energy bills and a saving in mains water use of 125,000 litres per year. The house has been designed so that there will be no net greenhouse gas emissions from energy use in the home, saving an estimated 12.047 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Measurement

One of the most important elements in ensuring the correct performance of the Harmony 9 home is the smart energy meter, Mirvac said. “It is now very important to start changing user behaviour so we can live in these energy efficient homes to reap the maximum benefits,” the company said in a media statement. “If ‘driven’ poorly, a 9 Star home could use as much energy as a conventional 5 Star home. Our Smart Energy Meter is a major initiative in this area – it gives real time feedback to the occupants about energy, water and gas usage, and carbon emissions.”

Externally, Harmony 9 home features specific shading design to control solar energy, adjustable louvers on east-facing windows, lightweight cladding, recycled timber for garden decking and locally made pavers. The landscaping takes advantage of the supply of rain or recycled water and also provides a “rain garden” to clean the driveway water run off.

Other features include:

Water

• A Nubian Class “A” recycled water system treats grey water from the showers, basins and the bath.
• A 20,000 litre tank is located under the driveway which stores all roof storm water (120 square metres) and the class “A” recycled water.
• Water from this tank is available for use irrigating the garden, flushing toilets and use in the laundry.
• High Water Effciency Labelling and Standard (WELS) rated fittings – taps 6 Star, shower heads 3 Star, toilet Systems 4 Star.
• All external hard-scape areas are permeable (except the driveway).
• Driveway stormwater runoff is directed to a rain garden to clean the water before discharging into the street system.

Recycled

• Slab Boral Envirocrete was used, a unique recycled concrete slab floor incorporating 100 per cent recycled aggregates and 60 per cent cement substitutes.
• Recycled timbers of various species for the external cladding, pergolas and sun screens. Mixed species & sizes for the cladding is a result of using the off cuts and “left overs” from the supplier.
• Recycled/reclaimed bricks from various construction sites are used to form reverse brick veneer wall construction and used partly as an artistic composition internally.
• All walls are Boral 13 mm recycled plasterboard Good Environmental Choice Australia Certified.

Toxicity

• Internal paint is Wattyl ID low Volatile organic Compound (VoC) paint.
• No carpet has been used to minimise VoC emissions.
• Clear finishing timber cladding/window frames use a natural oil to seal.
• Plantation Hoop Pine Eco Ply is used in the kitchen joinery, which is locally sourced from managed forests, while low formaldehyde content glues were used to bond the materials.
• No composite boards or carpets used internally in order to reduce the amount of VOCs produced. Boral Silkwood timber flooring was sourced locally from Australian species and is Australian Forestry Standard Certifed. Timber flooring uses a type of adhesive that has effectively zero formaldehyde emissions. Flooring also consists of extremely Low VOC content UV cured acrylic coating.