Green and gold: Darwin Airport Resorts recognised for top energy performance
NABERS organisation awarded the ibis a 5-star rating, Mercure 4.5 stars, and Novotel 4 stars
Darwin Airport Resorts – home to the Novotel, Mercure and ibis hotels – has emerged as the city’s leader in hotel energy efficiency, achieving the highest sustainability ratings in Darwin.
In a recent independent audit by NABERS (the National Australian Built Environment Rating System), the ibis was awarded an impressive 5-star energy rating, with the Mercure earning 4.5 stars and the Novotel close behind at 4 stars—no other hotel in the city has reached this level of environmental performance.
NABERS is a nationally recognised initiative backed by all levels of Australian government that measures the environmental performance of buildings.
This outstanding result was achieved through a range of strategic energy-saving initiatives. According to the NABERS Renewable Energy Indicator (REI), the Ibis contributed 19 percent of its energy through renewables, followed by 18 percent from the Novotel, and 13 percent from the Mercure. These efforts were supported by significant investment from the resorts’ owners, Airport Development Group (ADG), in the airport precinct’s solar energy infrastructure—part of their broader mission to reach net zero emissions.
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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.
“The sustainability initiatives were a win-win for the environment and our business, without compromising the comfort of our guests,” said General Manager of Darwin Airport Resorts, Chris Chaffe.
“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.”
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