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 where the Fund is responsible for purchasing and managing consumption. The Fund reports on energy consumption (electricity, heating and gas: the energy components) for apartment buildings which translates to greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2012, the Fund set a target to reduce energy consumption in communal spaces by at least 10% in 2015. By selecting and focusing on the top 50 largest energy consuming assets and connections and installing LED lighting and relocating sensors, the Fund met this target. In 2015 the Fund managed to cut energy consumption by 4.0% (2014: 4.1%) contributing to a total cut in energy consumption of 10.4% in the period 2012-2015 on a like-for-like basis and achieved its target. To further improve monitoring, the Fund installed smart meters in all areas Bouwinvest has management control.
In 2015, the Fund set the following targets for the period 2016-2018:
Energy: average annual reduction 2%
GHG emissions: average annual reduction 2%
Water: average annual reduction 2%
Renewable energy: increase percentage renewable energy
The implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) will help us to achieve these targets.
The Fund's ambition to increase the coverage and as such the transparency of its environmental impact according to INREV sustainability guidelines is reflected in the key CSR data summary. For more detailed information on the key performance indicators, please see the CSR performance indicators in the Annual Report of the management company.
Renewable sources
The Fund purchases renewable electricity for common areas, while property managers are required to deliver sustainable alternatives for repairs and replacements based on the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) principle. In 2015 the solar panels installed in the pilot project 'Here comes the sun' in 2014 produced a total of 108,498 kWh on site renewable energy, avoiding 160,578 kg GHG emissions. The Fund’s standard programme of requirements includes water-saving fittings, while we are also investigating the potential use of water buffering and partly recycled (non-drinking) water, for instance for the maintenance of green areas. This puts the Fund among the most sustainable residential funds in the Netherlands.
ZEN homes – Setting the standard
Bouwinvest has joined the ZEN (Zeer Energiezuinige Nieuwbouw – extremely energy-efficient new-build homes) platform, which aims to promote sustainability and make extreme energy efficiency the norm in new-build homes. Bouwinvest is the only liberalised sector rental home investor to have joined this initiative, which includes 40 companies from the construction industry and housing sector. As part of its sustainability drive, in June 2015 the Residential Fund and construction partner Dura Vermeer signed a contract for the construction and purchase of 200 homes in the Rijswijk Buiten residential development, close to the cities of Rijswijk, The Hague and Delft. All the homes will be in the liberalised mid-rental segment and come complete with state-of-the-art climate control systems. The homes will be fitted with solar panels, thermal energy systems and efficient ventilations installations. They will all have an energy efficiency coefficient of zero, a much higher standard than the 0.6 coefficient required for all new-build homes under current European environmental legislation. Construction on the first 43 homes started in 2015 and delivery is planned for 2016.
Transformation and re-purpose
Bouwinvest is currently involved in the transformation of the former Shell head office on Oostduinlaan in The Hague into a residential tower that will meet the very highest sustainability requirements. The project will result in 146 liberalised rental sector homes and is due for completion and delivery to the Residential Fund in the second half of 2016. One of the requirements set for the project was the maximum re-use of the existing materials.
