CFP Innovation Day 2025: Innovations in Room 2 – Weerwater
Sustainable innovation is the key to a future-proof real estate sector. During the 23rd CFP Innovation Day, Room 2 – Weerwater featured a range of groundbreaking technologies and concepts focused on carbon reduction, circular economy, and nature-inclusive building. Experts, startups, and policymakers shared insights with around 100 attendees, looking for collaborations to accelerate impact.
Curious about what happened in Room 1, The Village? Read more here.
The opening: urgency and innovation
On 13 March, experts, entrepreneurs, and policymakers gathered at Proeflokaal Flevoland – a location that symbolises sustainability and innovation. Bram Adema (CFP Green Buildings) and Hillebrand Koning (Province of Flevoland) kicked off the day. Bram highlighted the importance of innovation at CFP and the need for collaboration:
“Today we’ll be challenging pitchers in a dragons’ den-style setting, but more importantly, we’re here to connect. Previous editions have shown that innovations here often lead to new customers and partnerships.”
Hillebrand Koning reflected on the province’s sustainability ambitions and the role of buildings in climate adaptation. He stressed the importance of nature-based solutions:
“Look up at the ceiling and imagine water above us. Without innovation and smart design, we would have to deal with these types of scenarios on a daily basis.”
Innovations in Room 2: Weerwater
In Room 2: Weerwater, the following innovations were presented. Rosalie van der Stege from Ecoteers joined the audience and summarised the pitches.
Comfortable sustainability
Does making sustainable choices mean sacrificing comfort? This Innovation Day proved otherwise. Several pitchers demonstrated how
Rinse&Go
Jeffrey introduced the smart rinse stations from Rinse&Go. Since the rise of reusable cups, many companies have had to rethink logistics. Instead of disposable cups, reusable cups are now common—often rinsed in overworked dishwashers or returned via collection services involving extra transport emissions.
Rinse&Go offers a smarter solution. Their rinse stations save nearly 70% water compared to dishwashers, and 80% less water than rinsing by hand. All you need is a water inlet and outlet to install a rinse station. It’s also perfect for on the go—no more carrying a dirty cup on the train or in the car, just rinse and reuse.
Comforest
From holistic software to holistic climate systems—this is the story of Comforest. After buying his own office building, founder Serge realised the difficulties of achieving energy-efficient performance. Existing systems were rigid and fragmented, so he built his own. The result? A system where each room can be individually controlled in terms of heating, lighting and power.
In office buildings, 70% of devices can be turned off most of the time—except, for example, the fridge. After optimising every process, Comforest achieved a 75% reduction in energy use. That success inspired them to bring their impact to other buildings.
Comforest is now a full climate control system that makes smart, flexible building use easy—reducing energy use by up to 70%.
NewLand Nature Development
The NewLand Nature Development project removes obstacles and creates new opportunities. This financing fund, initiated by CFP, responds to three key trends: the need for more nature, the lack of funding for nature projects, and the growing realisation that people can actively create nature. Many nature projects already have agreement among all stakeholders and the necessary permits in place, yet financing often remains the bottleneck.
NewLand Nature Development addresses this challenge by dividing both the projects and the financing options into compartments. These compartments are then matched based on risk and return characteristics, which makes securing financing much more straightforward.
What does that look like in practice? Nature projects can be split into elements such as preliminary costs, real estate, and credits. Early-stage research fits well with equity investment, real estate can be funded through long-term loans with collateral, and credits match with short-term loans.
In this way, NewLand uses smart blended finance to make nature projects financially viable. And that is urgently needed—for the preservation of biodiversity, climate mitigation, water management, and public health.
Priva
Priva also places comfort front and centre. With a smart algorithm, it not only analyses energy consumption but predicts it too. By combining various technologies, AI models decide which systems should be activated and when. Bandwidths with upper and lower limits ensure that energy is stored and used as efficiently as possible.
Priva works with any existing system—from EV chargers to batteries, light sensors and solar panels. It even factors in weather forecasts, energy prices, user behaviour, and building characteristics like orientation. The result? The perfect indoor climate when you arrive in the morning, with energy savings of more than 50%.
Next-level upcycling
Aectual
Hedwig from Aectual clearly explained how their design interiors and furniture offer a powerful solution to the waste problem. The construction industry is responsible for 35% of global waste, and Aectual turns this into a resource using 3D printing. Their process is 100% circular—every item can be shredded and reprinted into something new. This also results in an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions per production cycle.
What kind of waste do they use? Almost anything—from wood to drink cartons and polypropylene. And the result isn’t just “green” furniture—it’s high-end design.
Biodiversity boosters
Carbon Neutral Initiative
Green roofs have been featured at previous CFP Innovation Days—but the Carbon Neutral Initiative takes it a step further. Their green roofs actively remove carbon from the air. That means you get all the regular benefits—biodiversity, lower urban temperatures, water retention, noise insulation—and permanent carbon removal.
How? Through enhanced weathering: the addition of ultra-fine rock particles that react with CO2 and lock it away. If scaled, this could remove 2 to 4 gigatonnes of CO2 annually—there’s enough rock and roof space.
They’re also applying the same principle to garden soil. By adding minerals, 100 kg of CO2 can be removed per tonne of soil, Peter-Paul explained.
BeeGrateful
A refreshing and insightful pitch came from BeeGrateful. Zoe and Floor highlighted a little-known fact: not all bees make honey. Wild bees, which don’t, are actually the ones under the greatest threat. That’s a problem—not just for biodiversity, but also for global food security.
BeeGrateful created the Streetlight Bee Hotel, raising awareness while offering a safe habitat for wild bees. Using AI, they monitor local bee populations and collect valuable data for municipalities, provinces, and businesses. These insights can support impact reports that align with EU Green Deal and CSRD requirements.
Winners & looking ahead
After an inspiring afternoon, the most impactful innovations were rewarded. The CFP Innovation Day Award was presented to Beegrateful, an initiative that monitors wild bee species and contributes to biodiversity in cities. Second place went to Aectual, which develops 3D-printed circular interiors. Third place went to Doepel Strijkers Architects, for their work in the field of bioclimatic design and natural ventilation solutions.
With the CFP Innovation Day 2025 behind us, we look ahead to the Green Buildings Event 2026. There, the winner of the CFP Innovation Day will once again take the stage. Keep an eye on our website for updates and new developments!
during the CFP Innovation Day 2025.
Want to know more about the pitches in Room 1, The Village? Read the full recap here or watch the aftermovie for a complete impression of the 23rd edition of CFP Innovation Day.
