Siemens Powers Riverside Centre’s Carbon Neutrality

Siemens technology has helped Ashbridge Capital’s Riverside Centre in Adelaide reduce electricity costs by 50%; reduce energy consumption by 40%; reduce emissions by 67.5%; achieve carbon neutrality and earn a 5.5 Star NABERS Energy rating.

Originally built in 1987, the A-grade building has become one of the few older office towers in Australia to achieve this energy efficiency status. Currently, the Riverside Centre is the only office tower in South Australia that is fully certified carbon neutral.

Australian investment manager, Ashbridge Capital, on behalf of German investor Atlantic Funds, embarked on this sustainability journey in 2020 with a $24 million investment, aiming to significantly reduce the 22,000sqm building’s carbon footprint through energy efficiency upgrades. Ashbridge Capital partnered with Siemens on an Energy Performance Contract, which included modernising mechanical services including lift motors, smart metering, LED lighting upgrades, and the installation of a solar panel system. Controlled and monitored through Siemens’ leading Desigo CC Building Management System (BMS), Riverside has now become one of the few buildings of its age in Australia to achieve carbon neutrality. 

Vishant Narayan - Founder and Managing Director of Ashbridge Capital and Peter Halliday - CEO, Siemens Australia and New Zealand at the Riverside Centre

Vishant Narayan, Founder and Managing Director of Ashbridge Capital said, “The Riverside Centre, almost 40 years old, has been transformed into a carbon-neutral building with a 5.5 Star NABERS rating – an impressive achievement. We are exceptionally proud of these achievements, which validate that the Riverside Centre remains as relevant and competitive as any premium office building in Australia."

“Climate change is one of the most significant challenges of our time,” Mr Narayan said. “The built environment produces around 40% of carbon emissions globally. As building owners, we have a duty of care not just to provide healthy and productive spaces for tenants, but to use the latest energy efficiency technology there is to help reduce our collective carbon emissions."

"Siemens has been a great technology partner on our sustainability journey. From the feasibility studies at the start through to supporting us in bringing some of the best-in-class building management technology, it has been a collaborative effort to get to where we are now. We basically hit every goal we wanted to and outperformed on energy performance by 250%.

Part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, Desigo CC is a powerful, open building management platform which manages high-performance buildings and ensures adaptability to future requirements. Additionally, Siemens’ remote digital service centre in Melbourne delivers real-time monitoring of the Riverside Centre, ensuring that the building continues to operate at peak performance with a data-driven maintenance model.

"Australia is responsible for 1% of the global greenhouse gas emissions - but by accelerating digitalisation across industry and infrastructure, we can achieve our greenhouse gas reduction targets faster, ease the burden on ambitious renewables targets and contribute more to decarbonising the world beyond 1%. The Riverside Centre is a great example. Technology upgrades have delivered energy savings that will pay for the upgrades over time. This is true sustainability and demonstrates that no matter a building's age, we can use technologies available today to digitalise, become more sustainable and reduce operating costs. Congratulations to the Ashbridge team on taking a holistic approach and achieving fantastic results," said Peter Halliday, CEO of Siemens Australia and New Zealand