Darwin Airport Resorts tops the city’s energy sustainability ratings for hotels

A recent audited energy rating by the internationally recognised NABERS organisation has given the highest energy sustainability ratings to Darwin Airport Resorts – comprising the Novotel, Mercure and Ibis hotels.

NABERS organisation awarded the Ibis a 5-star rating, Mercure 4.5 stars, and Novotel 4 stars. NABERS is a national initiative that measures sustainability performance on behalf of the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments.

The strong performance was built on a combination of various energy-saving measures. NABERS Renewable Energy Indicator (REI) recorded that Ibis contributes 19% towards the renewable energy, 18% by the Novotel, and 13% by the Mercure. The hotel’s owners, Airport Development Group (ADG), have significantly invested in the solar energy plant in the airport precinct to achieve net zero emissions.

Darwin Airport Resorts was able to significantly reduce its energy use as a result of a Buildings Alive and GreenKon Engineering energy assessment which recommended changing air-conditioning settings to better perform in Darwin’s challenging climatic conditions.

Implementing these initiatives allowed the AC units to maintain suitable conditions while reducing energy consumption, lowering maintenance costs, extending their lifespan, and decreasing the building’s carbon footprint.

In addition, the hotel adopted a range of other energy conservation measures such as upgrading to energy-efficient lighting.

From December 2024 to January 2025, these savings amounted to 13,000 kWh saved vs. baseline and 36,000 kWh saved vs. the same period in 2023-24.

General Manager of Darwin Airport Resorts, Chris Chaffe noted “the sustainability initiatives were a win-win for the environment and our business, without compromising the comfort of our guests.

“Our owners, ADG, and our operating company, Accor, are very committed to sustainability, and given that air-conditioning is one of the most energy-consuming aspects of hotel operations, we sought specialist advice about energy conservation.

“The humidity of Darwin is a major problem, but by adjusting the temperature setpoints and fan speeds, we significantly reduced energy waste and kept the rooms very comfortable for guests.

“Our engineering team, led by Sherin Kutty, has done a great job, and we aim to increase our NABERS ratings even higher, with greater input of solar energy and further energy conservation measures in the future.

“We adopted the NABERS rating system because unlike some environmental certifications, NABERS accompanies hotels in an ongoing journey towards greater energy and water efficiency.   

“A commitment to sustainability not only reduces energy consumption and costs but also can potentially win business, as corporate and conference tenders increasingly require a detailed outline of the hotel’s sustainability measures. If that influences a large group booking or the holding of a conference, there is a direct benefit of having a high NABERS rating.”