The following information is provided in accordance with section 516A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The National Archives is committed to ecologically sustainable development and to improving its environmental performance in the areas of energy, waste and water consumption for all existing accommodation occupancy and future projects.

In 2018–19, the National Archives continued to mitigate its impact on the environment through:

• reducing paper usage by implementing digital authorisations and workflows
• using electronic document management systems and web-based information sharing tools that reduced or eliminated the need to print and retain paper copies of documents
• reviewing the portfolio to reduce the property footprint, while maintaining the integrity of the repositories and services to the public
• ensuring that new leases complied with the Australian Government’s energy- efficient policy while making sure that room temperatures and relative humidity levels required for the long-term preservation of collection material and records housed in repositories were maintained
• working closely with landlords to maximise the efficiency of base building plant and control systems, replacing ageing plant and equipment with updated technologies to reduce energy use
• procuring energy-efficient equipment such as smart lighting systems that activate only when work areas are occupied
• maintaining a fleet of seven leased vehicles to ensure operational requirements were effectively met while minimising potential environment impacts.

By integrating energy-efficient practices into our organisation and planning processes, the National Archives has reduced its consumption of resources.

NABERS Energy Rating

The National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) measures the environmental performance of Australian buildings, tenancies and homes. NABERS measures the energy efficiency, water usage, waste management and indoor environment quality of a building or tenancy and its impact on the environment.

In accordance with the current Green Lease Schedule for the Peter Durack Building at Mitchell in the Australian Capital Territory, the National Archives is required to achieve a 4.5 star NABERS energy tenancy rating. In June 2019, the National Archives achieved a 5.1 star rating.

Table 26 | Ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance 2016–19)