© a.s.r. 2024
14 October 2022 | 7 min.
The transition to 'Paris Proof' for the built environment seems a long way off, but a.s.r. real estate is taking on a substantial challenge over the next 1,500 weeks. The aim is to make all buildings more circular, energy-efficient, healthy, climate-adaptive and sustainable by 2050, a.s.r. real estate set this goals by 2045. This will involve five different transition areas. How can you avoid having to rebuild every building five times? By getting it right first time, of course.
Elise van Herwaarden of a.s.r. real estate and Bert van Renselaar of Sweco illustrate the five transition tasks by means of sample projects. Drawing on the lessons learned, they offer tips and recommend that in future all transitions should be merged into a single project.
Elise explains: “It’s important that sustainability in a.s.r. real estate’s portfolios is achieved as efficiently as possible in the future. The insights gained in our projects tackling a single transition will be very useful to us in that regard.”
The transition to a new, smart energy system has begun, on the basis of discontinuing fossil fuel use and being energy-neutral by 2050. The first formal challenge has been met, with a.s.r. real estate’s office portfolio receiving a green energy label well ahead of time. But obtaining an A energy label by 2030 and making all portfolios energy-neutral by 2050 (Paris Proof) will seldom be possible without major renovation. Sample project: increasing the sustainability of 130 homes from energy label F to A in a single step. Including improvements to the quality of the homes.
Cities are becoming increasingly crowded and less accessible. Residential, work and retail locations near public transport hubs are therefore becoming more attractive. Greenhouse gas emissions from transport must also be reduced. These trends will have a major impact on cities of the future. By 2030, 80% of cars will be electric, so there must be a sufficient number of charging points. More bicycle parking facilities are also needed. Sample project: collaboration with Amber for electric car sharing. Parking spaces and charging points provided by the owner, vehicles available for tenants of the building and others.
The Netherlands must remain liveable and resilient in all seasons. The climate is changing, and we are increasingly noticing the effects. Drought, heat, heavy rainfall and the risk of flooding are increasing. In order to prepare for this and to meet the growing demands of finance providers, measures will have to be taken, such as more green space to combat heat stress or blue roofs on which rainwater is collected to enable it to be drained more slowly. Sample project: installation of green facades and roofs on an inner-city retail property in Amsterdam during the renovation of the building.
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The picture of raw material consumption in our economy is gradually changing. Raw materials are becoming scarcer and more expensive and the requirements governing their use are set to become stricter. Waste production in cities is rising, but there are also increasing opportunities to use construction and other waste as a raw material. The 'Netherlands Circular 2050' objective will lead to a sustainable, fully circular economy, for which major steps still need to be taken in the sector as a whole. Sample project: the Bijlmerbajes is being redeveloped, with 98% of the raw materials being reused.
A healthy and safe environment starts with a healthy population. And with more and more people, more traffic and less living space, that is a major challenge. Both investors and tenants require a better indoor and outdoor environment, as well as a building that encourages more exercise and makes a positive physical and social contribution to the environment. Sample project: NEXT Delft was designed as a high-quality location that offers abundant light, includes space for meetings and encourages exercise.
Bert explains: “Defining the roadmap to low-energy, low-emission real estate is a priority for most property owners. When I look at the five different transitions, I see that everyone is mainly concerned with the energy transition. Yet there is also a lot of interest in making buildings climate-adaptive. This is also one of the most difficult areas for many investors.”
Bert gives more details: “Climate adaptation focuses on the risks associated with climate change. Climate risks have a clear impact on the comfort and liveability of buildings and their immediate surroundings, so they represent a financial risk for real estate investors. A climate risk assessment is required in order to anticipate this risk.
To enable this to be done quickly, effectively and with limited resources, Sweco has developed the Sweco Climate Risk Identification & Management (KIM) tool. This awards each building a climate risk score based on an environmental and a building score. Using 20 to 40 variables, the building score indicates the vulnerability of the building to flooding or heat stress. The environmental score identifies the risk of such impacts occurring in the surrounding area. The latter score is based on the 'Framework for Climate Adaptive Buildings' method adopted by DGBC and developed by Climate Adaptation Services (CAS).
On the basis of this risk profile, we recommend measures in the vicinity or on the property itself, including their effectiveness, applicability and costs. These measures could include fitting south-facing windows, adjusting threshold heights or moving installations to the basement instead of the roof. Using the results from the tool, it is possible to make targeted investments that both guarantee future liveability and limit the negative effects of climate change.
The KIM tool works in accordance with the EU Taxonomy, which states which investments are sustainable and which are not and identifies the environmental goals that they impact.”
Elise explains the urgency of the measures: “Our ambitions are sky-high, although the obligations with regard to existing real estate are still only minimal. With regard to legal requirements, the C energy label is the main reason why work is started on offices. But the transitions are approaching fast and will bring new requirements.”
Bert offers three tips: “That’s exactly right, so if you integrate the various transitions intelligently now, you really are working towards the future. It will help if you focus on the following three points in your plans:
“In future projects, we’ll tackle the transitions on an integrated basis as far as possible, because that causes much less nuisance for users, is more cost-efficient, delivers greater actual sustainability and naturally has the greatest eternal value,” Elise concludes.
