What is Upgrade Finance?
Environmental Upgrade Finance, also known as Building Upgrade Finance, is designed to fund building upgrades. This form of finance matches business and building owners that want to make sustainable upgrades to existing buildings with private sector funding using an ‘Upgrade Agreement’ which is provided by the state government. Upgrade Finance has been around for decades but, thanks to recent improvements, feedback from the sector and a free online Billing Platform, is now much easier for councils and simpler for building owners.
Upgrade Finance is enabled by council, who places an Upgrade Charge against the property, with loan repayments being collected in a similar way to council rates. The security provided by the Upgrade Charge allows lenders to offer attractive terms, which helps businesses increase their competitiveness by reducing operational costs through improved building performance.
Who is Better Building Finance?
Better Building Finance (BBF) is Australia’s independent Upgrade Finance service provider, helping councils establish and run programs for local businesses. Our purpose is to help councils create a more sustainable built environment across Australia, for the benefit of local businesses, the local community, and the broader environment. Every dollar of upgrade finance provided MUST have a measurable sustainability benefit.
What we do
By providing Upgrade Finance services to our Council Partners, we have helped them unlock around $45 million in investment for businesses through more than 125 building upgrade projects. This has resulted in the installation of more than 10,000 kW of renewable energy, the reduction in over 500,000 t-CO2 emissions, and cost savings of more than $100 million for local businesses.