Union Investment and Apleona Real Estate Management have launched a pilot project in the field of energy monitoring, in response to calls from the German government for the real estate industry to meet the goals of its climate protection plan 2050.
One of the aims is to cut final energy consumption in the building stock by 50% by 2050 compared to reference values from 1990. Union Investment said it was planning to introduce nationwide energy monitoring for its commercial real estate portfolio, which currently consists of 375 properties.
Standardised monitoring will provide the basis for calculating potential energy savings and taking corresponding action in conjunction with property managers and tenants.
'The goals set out in the German climate protection plan are ambitious, which is why we are taking responsibility for our holdings at an early stage,' said Volker Noack, head of asset management and a member of the management team at Union Investment Real Estate.
'This one-year pilot project will enable us to create a valid set of data that we can use to steer the strategic development of our portfolio.'
The scheme will involve a representative sub-portfolio of 10 commercial properties in Germany worth around 1 bn. The assets include six office properties, three mixed-use properties and a commercial building.
During the project, Apleona will collect and analyse consumption data for each building, create tailored evaluations and reports for Union Investment’s asset management team and implement measures designed to cut energy consumption and costs in the long term.
'Energy efficiency and resource-efficient management of buildings are set to become even more important in the future,' said Dr. Daniel Häußermann, CEO of Apleona Real Estate Management. 'We are delighted that our skilled building advisory team, headed by Norbert B. Löffler, will be assisting our client on the energy management side.'
