Series: Making your property more sustainable – setting goals
The government has set a number of goals in the field of sustainability and property. By 2030, it is likely that every building will have to have an EPC rating of A. The European objective for 2050 is for all buildings to be energy-neutral. This part of the series “Making your property more sustainable” explains how this objective is applied to buildings on the basis of two practical cases. We also provide you with tools to set your own goals for making your premises more sustainable.
Setting targets and integrating them into the long-term maintenance plan
HEYDAY, CFP and the Municipality of Nijmegen entered into a partnership to make the municipal and community property portfolio more sustainable. An important aim of the collaboration is to structurally and cost-efficiently guarantee sustainability in the maintenance of the entire property portfolio.
The project involves making approximately 160 buildings more sustainable, with a total surface area of approximately 200,000 m2. Good planning with specific goals is crucial here. An important goals is not seeing sustainability as a one-off project, but rather as being integrated into the everyday processes of property management and maintenance. To achieve this, all sustainability measures are implemented via the long-term maintenance plan. This allows for cost-efficient sustainability measures and safeguards the sustainability of the property portfolio in the future.
More information about this project is available here.
EPC improvement as a goal
Merin leases office and industrial space in approximately 110 buildings throughout the Netherlands. They handle the management of the buildings themselves. Merin’s aim is to work with clients to create a high-quality, sustainable and modern working environment in existing buildings. This goal has been specifically translated into an EPC improvement for a number of properties.
To achieve this goal, CFP has supported Merin in calculating and advising on about 16 properties for EPC improvement. CFP checked whether the plans would result in the desired EPC improvement and advised in detail on which measures were still needed to achieve their goals. Partly due to the support of CFP, this led to the improvement of 16 locations.
More information about this project is available here.
The importance of setting goals
Maintenance is carried out on a building every year. The maintenance work can vary from painting the window frames to replacing a boiler. By setting goals, you can better weigh up which measures you do or do not want to take during maintenance. For example, do you want to improve your EPC? Keep in mind that a lot of work does not affect the EPC. It is then important to look at sustainable alternatives that do influence the EPC. This applies, for example, to the thermal shell of the building (roof, façade, windows or floor). On the other hand, something small – such as replacing a light source – can have a positive effect on the EPC. It is therefore not always necessary to replace an entire fixture to achieve your goals.
To work!
Would you also like to work on making your real estate more sustainable? Then it is important to first formulate specific goals. For example, do you want to achieve the greatest possible savings or increase the comfort in your building? Different measures are recommended for each of these purposes. When you have your goals clear, you can start working on sustainability!
Do you want to know more about making your property more sustainable or do you have questions about this article? Please contact us or read the entire blog series.
