Property industry challenged to build first ‘net zero’ building

Mr Rattenbury said the standard of environmental performance in buildings needed to be raised.

"In this context, we need someone to step up and deliver the ACT’s first net zero emissions large-scale building, which will be an iconic achievement and a lasting legacy for our city,” Mr Rattenbury, who speaks to the Property Council on Thursday, said.

"Net zero buildings are highly efficient and consume less energy in total than the amount of renewable energy they produce."

He said recent research by the City of Sydney showed the buildings were feasible and highly cost-effective.

The challenge comes after the government committed to a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest as part of its commitment to the global effort to limit global warming to two degrees.

"The ACT is already a leader when it comes to energy and we’re on track to have 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2020," he said.

"But to reduce the ACT’s greenhouse gas emissions to our target of net zero by mid-century, we now need to focus on other sources of emissions, and the built environment is a key area."

He said high-density residential or commercial net zero buildings in Canberra would bring many benefits, including "reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, providing high-quality urban living and work spaces and increasing density for a more liveable city."

“The government is keen to ensure our planning system allows for these types of best practice environmental developments in Canberra, which is why we are also progressing a key parliamentary agreement item with the demonstration housing project,” he said.

Consultation on the government's discussion paper on its plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions closed earlier this month.

A consultation report will be released in mid-2018.