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Corporate Social Responsibility

Highlights sector funds

Residential Fund

  • GRESB Green Star classification for second successive year.

  • Acquisition Rijswijk Buiten, first project in which homebound energy is reduced to zero.

  • Start transformation former Shell head office into apartments.

  • Renewable energy: solar panels to be installed in 39 family homes.

  • Policy: introduction new sustainability assessment framework acquisitions.

ZEN homes

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 ventilation installations. They will all have an energy-efficiency coefficient of zero, much higher 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.

Retail Fund

  • GRESB Green Star classification for second successive year.

  • Fund continued to implement Green Leases.

  • BREEAM design certificate (Very Good) for Damrak; the Fund’s second green building certificate and two BREEAM In-Use certifications in progress (Goverwelle, Makado).

  • Web-based energy consumption monitoring and management.

Green Building Certificates

The design for the redevelopment of the retail complex Damrak 70 and 80 in Amsterdam was awarded the BREEAM NL New Build and Renovation Very Good certificate at year-end 2015. The design team worked with a BREEAM NL expert to incorporate a host of sustainability measures in the design. The roof has been fitted with solar panels and the building has been fitted with LED lighting. The designers also opted for energy-efficient escalators and lifts, while virtually all the existing construction was either reused or incorporated in the design. The redevelopment also complied with the Bewuste Bouwers sustainable construction code, which includes standards for minimising and separating waste, the reduction of energy and water use, safety and the prevention of nuisance in the immediate environment. The plan is to continue this initiative by working with tenants to introduce a broad range of measures for the fit-out and use of the retail premises, with the ultimate aim of a BREEAM NL Very Good certificate once the renovation is complete and the tenants have moved into the complex. This is expected at year-end 2016.

The adjoining project Nieuwendijk 196 in Amsterdam has already received the design certificate BREEAM Very Good and delivery certification Very Good is expected in the first quarter of 2016. In 2015 the Fund also started the process for obtaining the BREEAM-NL In-Use certificate for two shopping centres; Goverwelle (Gouda) and Makado (Purmerend). Both certificates are expected at first quarter 2016.

Office Fund

  • GRESB Green Star classification for second successive year.

  • BREEAM In-Use certification in progress for Arthur van Schendelstraat.

  • Full portfolio coverage energy certificates.

  • 37% reduction in energy consumption Olympisch Stadion (Parking) by LED lighting and dynamic lighting system installed in 2014. 

  • Linking up Beurshal WTC Rotterdam to adjacent thermal energy storage system.

Sustainable partnerships

The Office Fund worked very closely with fair trade organisation Max Havelaar and micro-credit provider Oikocredit on the renovation and refitting of its Arthur van Schendelstraat building in Utrecht, with the aim of creating truly sustainable office suites. When Max Havelaar and Oikocredit approached Bouwinvest they had very clear demands regarding their future office space, as they wanted it to be a clear extension of the culture, working environment and identity of the two idealistic organisations.

They wanted pleasant lighting, a healthy interior climate and they wanted to be close to Utrecht central station. Arthur van Schendelstraat fit the bill perfectly and the Office Fund and its future tenants set to work – in partnership – to put together a package of measures that would create offices that will meet sustainability standards long into the future. These measures included solar panels, a wide range of energy efficiency measures and the use of sustainable materials for the renovation. This has already helped improve the energy label for the building to B from D and further improvement is expected. Bouwinvest has also applied for a BREEAM NL In-Use certificate and expects to obtain this in 2016. The improvements in the sustainability of the office building have led to a great deal of interest from like-minded organisations in the non-profit sector. The Fund is currently in negotiations on a number of leases.

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