2025: Sustainability in Action

Han Soul Lee, Oyster’s Safety and Sustainability Manager on progressing Oyster’s sustainability credentials in the year ahead.

A sustainable future
“Sustainability isn’t a separate initiative at Oyster”, says Han Soul. “It’s central to our culture and operations.

“For our investors and capital partners, we’re focused on delivering value through future-proofed assets that attract high-quality tenants and deliver optimal long-term returns.

“For tenants, it’s about providing efficient, sustainable spaces and fostering strong landlord-tenant partnerships to support their own ESG goals.”

Leveraging technology to enhance performance
“In 2025, we’ll complete the installation of Whole-building Smart electricity and water meters across all applicable properties within our portfolio.

“These tools provide real-time data, helping tenants optimise their resource use and enabling Oyster to track and improve asset performance”, says Han Soul.

“We’re also piloting Base-Build Check Meters at the Millennium Centre in Ellerslie with view to a portfolio-wide rollout in 2025. These meters give us deeper insights into how our buildings operate outside of tenant usage.

“To tie it all together, we’re introducing an online ESG platform to centralise data on energy, water, gas, and waste. This platform will give us and our tenants better visibility and allow us to identify even more opportunities for improvement.” 

Our ongoing commitment to NABERSNZ ratings

“We’re now in our third year under the NABERSNZ rating system, says Han Soul. In 2024,16 of our commercial office properties achieved a 4-Star or higher rating, reflecting good to excellent performance.”

“In 2025, we’re focused on improving our existing ratings and securing new ratings for the remaining office assets in the portfolio.

“NABERSNZ ratings also support Oyster’s ability to secure favourable sustainable lending terms and we’ll continue to seek opportunities to maximise the benefits of this for investors this year.

Raising the bar on Green Star performance ratings
In 2024, our two Westney Road properties in Auckland became the first in New Zealand to use the new Green Star Performance tool and benchmarks for warehouses and to be awarded a certification. Each received a 2-star rating.

Our 223 Tuam Street asset in Christchurch, home to the Kathmandu head office, also received a 2-star rating.

“Green Star certification is a comprehensive process. These certifications are a good starting point – the focus now is lifting them further,” says Han Soul.

“In 2025, we’ll be working to increase these ratings to four stars or higher, while also exploring new opportunities for certifications across our industrial assets.”

A commitment to continuous improvement
Alongside our flagship projects, we’re delivering a continuous pipeline of initiatives to improve our assets and partnering with our tenants to advance their sustainability strategies.

“For properties with outdated or end-of-life equipment, all upgrades moving forward will integrate sustainability measures to reduce environmental impacts and further support our NABERSNZ ratings,” says Han Soul.

“Projects planned for 2025 also include the installation of EV charging stations at more properties, rainwater harvesting systems,  solar panel installs and continuing LED lighting upgrades.

“It’s about thinking outside the box to solve challenges and making meaningful changes every day. These small steps add up to a significant impact, and I’m excited to see the progress we’ll achieve in 2025.”