2.3 Recommendations from “Developing the Future Energy Workforce”

Development of energy efficiency definitions

Finding 1.9 in the Developing the Future Energy Workforce 6 Report was that definitions should be developed for energy efficient products and services in the Australian context, as many of the definitions used in the USEER are not relevant in Australia.

In the AEER pilot survey undertaken in 2020 7 respondents were asked to use their own definition of high efficiency as an interim measure. Developing the Future Energy Workforce recommended:

- “All products and services for insulation, high efficiency glazing and LED lighting should be defined as energy efficiency;

- Consultation on other energy efficiency products and technologies should be undertaken to establish where the boundary should lie between efficient and non-efficient products;

- Consultation [should be undertaken] on which definitions, if any, should be relative to regulatory standards, that is, once a current energy efficient product becomes the regulated minimum, should it cease to be included?”

This report proposes a set of definitions which have been refined through consultation with industry, government, and other stakeholders reflecting this recommendation.

All energy efficiency work or incremental work?

Should all work on energy efficient products or buildings be counted or only the additional energy efficiency component of investment and work – what is often known as the ‘energy efficiency premium’? This applies to both cost and employment, as one may aim to determine either all the work associated with constructing or installing a high efficiency product or building, or only the additional work associated the energy efficient option compared to the non-efficient option.

This is brought into relief by considering a residential new build: while an 8-star home will certainly involve additional employment and costs compared to a 6-star home, the incremental labour will be a fraction of the total.

In practice this question needs to be considered for different methodologies and aligned with the purpose of the information. Finding 1.10 of the Developing the Future Energy Workforce 8 Report was that ‘all energy efficiency work’ should be measured and reported, and that the portion of this that is ‘incremental energy efficiency work’ should also be reported as far as possible. The report acknowledged the survey would be aimed at capturing all work in the first instance, with identification of the incremental portion likely to be achieved in later iterations.

“Measure and report both metrics as far as possible, that is, ‘all work’ and ‘incremental work’ for energy efficiency activities for both current workforce and projections, as this is perhaps closest to reporting net energy sector jobs. This will require developing indicators to adjust baseline measurements of energy efficiency activities for the incremental proportion.”

This is discussed in section 7.5