30 November, 2023
by Europi Property Group
CityBee’s office assets in Dusseldorf and Barcelona receive DGNB Platinum and BREEAM Excellent certification respectively, confirming Europi’s commitment to investing in a greener built environment
Europi Property Group is pleased to announce the successful certification of two office assets within its pan-European, future of office portfolio “CityBee”. Following investment in the assets, 3rd party certification exercises have been undertaken to globally recognised standards.
Europi was founded on the principle that investors have a responsibility to improve the built environment for all stakeholders, and sustainability has thus always been an integral part of Europi’s core values and investment strategy. Europi continuously works to improve the environmental impact of the Group’s operations, with efforts especially focused on reducing carbon footprint and increasing energy efficiency, in addition to increasing its share of renewable energy consumed. As 28% of the global energy related carbon emissions stems from energy needed to heat, cool and power buildings, investing to reduce these elements is crucial to reach the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and limit global warming.
In Germany, Europi have worked closely with local operating partner Silverton to undertake strategic investment into Silizium, a 15,400 sq m office building in Dusseldorf. When the building was acquired in 2022, it was certified to DGNB Silver. Through further investment, in particular into a significant upgrade of the Building Management System (BMS) and smart metering, the certification has been upgraded to “DGNB Platinum”, the highest certification level possible within the DGNB framework. The improvements in the building are expected to reduce consumed energy and CO2 emissions by at least 18%, and significantly reduce operating costs for the occupier.
In Spain major upgrades have been made at Esplugues 225, a 9,500 sq m office building in Barcelona, working together with local operating partner Kefren Capital Real Estate. The building was acquired in 2021 with no environmental certifications in place. Since acquisition, investment has been targeted to reduce resource consumption, including upgrade of the BMS, installation of LED lighting throughout, a variety of initiatives to reduce water consumption and the addition of EV car charging points and cycle storage. Following these investments, the asset has been certified “BREEAM Excellent”, the second highest BREEAM in-use certification. Following completion of the works a significant reduction in consumed energy is already being seen, with a c. 30% reduction in kWh consumed versus the equivalent period in 2022.
Jonathan Willén, CEO of Europi Property Group, comments:
“Sustainability has been a core focus for Europi since the company was founded in 2019 and we have always sought to maximize the positive impact of our investments. In that context, we’re pleased with the recent certification upgrades at Silizium and Esplugues 225, and we are proud to state that 63% of CityBee assets are now environmentally certified to a high standard, with the remaining assets in the process of being certified. The future of office is green, it’s sustainable and it’s focused on tenant experience – we’re making sure all of our assets are future proofed in this regard.”
James Tootell, Asset Management Director at Europi Property Group, added:
“These certifications serve as external validation that we are focusing our investments in initiatives that make a real and quantifiable impact, reducing the energy consumption and carbon footprint of our buildings. We are pleased to have worked proactively with our local partners to achieve these important objectives. There remains strong occupier demand for sustainable workplaces in great locations, and we will continue to invest in the CityBee portfolio to ensure that we meet the requirements of forward-thinking businesses.”
