BREEAM, the sustainability benchmark scheme for real estate, has named investment manager Redevco during EXPO REAL as the top retail certification holder in Europe by number of assets.
The accolade comes as Amsterdam-headquartered Redevco marked its 25th anniversary by laying out ideas on the next generation of 'cradle-to-cradle' green property strategies.
Redevco has a combined portfolio of €6.8 bn, managing 391 assets, 2,182 leases across 2.8 million m2 of space. By end-2015, the European retail property specialist had certified 288 assets, which equates to about a quarter of all the 1,274 BREEAM In-Use certified retail properties in Europe.
Clemens Brenninkmeijer, managing director of Redevco in the Netherlands noted that energy efficiency has been the first and main focus of certification. But due to rapidly evolving technology, other areas such as ‘cradle-to-cradle’ material use are getting more attention. ‘Built environment waste products, including concrete, bricks, steel and wood must find a second life in some shape or form,’ Brenninkmeijer said.
Martin Townsend, director sustainability at BRE, which operates the BREEAM rating scheme, said Redevco was an 'excellent example' of how to use BREEAM tools to help measure the performance of their buildings and improve the overall quality of the portfolio. 'They have progressively increased their use of BREEAM, acting as an intelligent and responsible client, and contributing to BREEAM’s evolution and development as an effective asset management and performance tool.'
