Investing in sustainable real estate

Sustainable buildings

The Fund uses BREEAM to measure and assess the overall sustainability of its buildings. The BREEAM methodology covers a wide range of subjects; from energy to transport, from vegetation and materials to indoor climate quality. This makes it a very useful tool to implement sustainability at different levels within the Fund. The target for 2019 was to achieve a minimum of a BREEAM GOOD rating for every asset in the portfolio. Following the BREEAM labelling of the De Lairessestraat and Valeriusplein assets, all the Fund’s assets are now BREEAM certified and all of them score a minimum of GOOD. In 2019, the Fund continued to work in close collaboration with our property managers to execute a number of improvements to improve GOOD certificates to VERY GOOD during re-certification in 2019. The high rise section of WTC Rotterdam improved from GOOD to VERY GOOD due to the replacement of a new energy-efficient air handling installation. Upon delivery in the final quarter of 2019, the Hourglass office building In Amsterdam was awarded a BREEAM EXCELLENT label. Central Park in Utrecht will be awarded the same label upon completion in 2021.

The figure below shows all the certificates obtained per asset.

BREEAM scores (% of lettable floor space)

The Fund redefined these targets in the Fund Plan 2019-2021 in such a way that we are now aiming for 100% certified assets with BREEAM-NL In-Use GOOD labels at building management level by the end of 2021, while we have so far focused solely on certification at asset level.

Climate resilient buildings

The impact of climate change is becoming ever more visible. Physical risks are increasing, but so are the transition risks resulting from the additional measures governments are taking to put a brake on global climate change. This demands more attention for the effects of climate change.

The Fund has started to identify the climate risk exposure of its buildings, by combining climate data with other sources of building data to create a so-called climate stress test. This looks at the likes of hindrance or damage due to flooding, heat stress inside and outside buildings and subsidence due to drought and drops in ground water levels. The aim of this exercise is to ascertain whether current and future investments are climate proof, both in the short term and around 2050. And what measures the Fund needs to take to prevent damage to the buildings and to guarantee the safety and well-being of users. This is how we are working to create a climate-proof portfolio.

Reduction of environmental impact

Monitoring performance

Monitoring environmental performance data (energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and waste) is an important part of managing sustainability issues. The Fund tracks and aims to improve the environmental performance of its managed real estate assets: those properties for which the Fund is responsible for purchasing and managing energy consumption. The Fund reports on energy consumption (electricity, heating and gas: the energy components) for multi-tenant assets, which translates to greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2019, the Fund raised its targets for the reduction of its environmental impact in the period 2020-2022:

• Renewable energy: increase percentage of renewable energy

• Energy: average annual reduction to 5% in 2021 from 2% in 2019

• GHG emissions: average annual reduction to 5% in 2021 from 2% in 2019

• Water: average annual reduction 2%

• Waste: Increase recycling percentage

One major project that will help us monitor performance and increase efficiency and ultimately enable us to reduce energy is the EMS (Environmental Management System) project. This will enable us to collect and analyse all the environmental data of our buildings (gas, water, electricity, waste, etc.) automatically in a single system. By sharing consumption data with users (for instance, via their own log-in system or via narrowcasting) we aim to increase awareness of consumption (and the related costs).

Renewable energy production

In 2019, the Fund continued preparations for the installation of a new geothermal heating (and cooling system) in Centre Court (The Hague) and increased the generation of solar power, installing solar panels on WTC Rotterdam, Centre Court (The Hague) and Maasparc (Rotterdam). The increase of renewable energy produced for Centre Court was part of a new lease agreement with the Dutch government’s Real Estate Agency (‘Rijksvastgoedbedrijf’).

We raised our target for renewable energy generated on-site via solar panels to 750 KWp by the end of 2021. 

Energy consumption and GHG emissions

In 2019, the Fund's energy consumption decreased by 10.2% (2018: +0.3%) on a like-for-like basis and GHG emissions decreased by 7.8%.

To reduce the environmental impact, the Fund made several improvements. For instance, as part of the lease extension we agreed with the Dutch tax authority for WTC The Hague, we have agreed on a joint investment in LED lighting. 

Water consumption

We take a strategic approach to water management because this enhances the efficiency, resilience and long-term value of our investments. Since 2012, the Fund has actively tracked water consumption in multi-tenant assets since 2012 using data provided by property managers. Moreover, renovations always include the installation of water-efficient sanitary installations. The Fund is committed to reducing water consumption, reusing water and preventing water pollution and flooding.

Waste management

The Fund aims to manage waste at its properties responsibly. We encourage our tenants to minimise and recycle waste, providing recycling bins and encouraging the reuse of plastics, metal and other materials. The Fund tracked waste management for its entire managed real estate portfolio in 2019, focusing on those assets for which the Fund holds responsibility and can therefore influence the waste handling on-site. This generally involves multi-tenant office assets. No waste is sent directly to landfill.

We are studying the opportunities offered by circular economy developments to deal with waste management.

Green portfolio

Another target related to the Fund's sustainability at asset level was to achieve a 100% green portfolio (EPC label A, B or C) in 2019. This included efforts to achieve an energy label A for the listed low-rise section of the WTC Rotterdam complex (the high-rise section has already been awarded an A label). The distribution of energy labels in the portfolio is shown below. Hourglass in Amsterdam will be awarded an A label upon completion in the first quarter of 2020. Investment properties under construction, in this case Central Park (Utrecht), are excluded from this overview. The Fund expects Central Park to receive an energy label A upon delivery in 2021.

Investment property by labelled floor space (m²) in %

The target for energy reduction is now 5% per year to put the target in line with (international) climate goals (reduction of 95% of CO₂ in 2050 compared to 1990). We also raised the target for renewable energy generated on-site via solar panels to 750 KWp by the end of 2021.