Bouwinvest has developed a vision for real estate investment management that contributes towards creating sustainable, liveable and accessible urban environments, while also boosting pension benefits. Our approach enables us to generate both societal and financial returns. We call it Real Value for Life.
In 2019, we conducted a reputation survey among 45 of our clients, tenants and partners. They encouraged us to show more of Bouwinvest’s social side and that is exactly what we are doing as we incorporate Real Value for Life in everything we do. We cannot do this alone. Together with our partners we add value by playing an active role across different social realms. Our goal is to create liveable metropolitan areas, affordable housing and much-needed healthcare properties, while developing climate-neutral portfolios grounded in the principles of the circular economy and climate adaptability. If you would like to know more about Real Value for Life, please visit our website.
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| Bouwinvest teams up with Dutch Green Building Council to ‘Paris-Proof’ its portfolio |
Bouwinvest has partnered with the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC) to reduce the energy consumption of its real estate portfolio and make it ‘Paris Proof’ by 2045. In response to the Paris Climate Accord to combat climate change, the Dutch government is committed to curbing CO2 emissions in the Netherlands by 50% by 2030 compared with current levels and by as much as 95% by 2050. For us, this means our portfolios must become energy-neutral and no longer dependent on natural gas by that date.
According to the DGBC’s definition, a ‘Paris Proof’ building has a maximum annual energy consumption per square metre (sqm). For offices, for example, the standard is 50 kilowatt (kW) per sqm. This complies with the target of keeping the rise in global temperatures to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius or lower, compared with pre-industrial levels, as agreed under the Paris climate accord in 2015.
The ‘Paris Proof’ calculation methodology is in line with Bouwinvest’s own philosophy and its integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policy, which incorporates all elements of responsible entrepreneurship, Bernardo Korenberg, Head of Sustainability and Innovation at Bouwinvest, said in a joint interview with DGBC director Annemarie van Doorn: “We are a real estate asset manager that invests for the long term and wants to generate sustainable returns, both financially and socially. Those two goals go hand in hand."
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| Governments need to remove barriers to institutional investment in affordable housing |
Local governments worldwide need to provide more financial incentives and other concessions if institutional investors are to play a greater role in the provision of affordable housing, according to Michiel de Bruine, Director Dutch Residential Investments, and Gijs Plantinga, Director North American Investments, in an article in international real estate publication PERE on the growing role of institutional investors in this segment.
A closer partnership between commercial players and local governments can help bridge the gap, Michiel said. “It helps, for example, when municipalities lower land prices or when restrictions keeping homes in the mid-rental segment are eased to 20 instead of 25 years. Such concessions help us to reduce our risk and enable us to accept lower returns.” |
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| "We want to show we are as socially responsible as we say we are” |
| Stephen Tross, Board Member and Managing Director International Investments, joined a panel this spring organised by the Canadian Real Estate Forums to discuss the impact of Covid-19 and how institutional investors are responding to the pandemic. Stephen also spoke about the importance of acting responsibly, especially in a crisis like the one we are currently facing, saying Bouwinvest wants to demonstrate its social credentials and show that we are the long-term investor that we always say we are. "Our clients support the special measures we have put in place for occupiers, such as rent deferrals.” |
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| The Netherlands needs to keep building |
| to avoid deepening housing crisis |
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| Marleen Bosma |
| Head of Research and Strategic Advisory |
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| "The Netherlands needs to keep building to avoid deepening housing crisis" |
The Dutch building sector can draw important lessons from the 2008 Global Financial Crisis when residential construction ground to a halt. History may repeat itself after the Covid-19 pandemic passes, unless all parties in the industry join forces to keep building homes, Marleen Bosma, Head of Research & Strategic Advisory, and Jeroen Beimer, Real Estate Investment Strategist, argued in a Q&A session with Dutch trade publication Financial Investigator.
Investing in the Dutch residential market is attractive, they said, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The situation is even more urgent today given that the national housing shortage is estimated to have doubled since 2008 to approximately 300,000 homes in 2020, with some forecasts projecting the supply/demand gap may rise further to around one million homes by 2035. “The fundamentals of the housing market remain strong due to a long-standing shortage in supply,” Bosma said. Pension funds are facing huge challenges since the outbreak of the pandemic, Biemer added: “Since so many of them are confronted with low premium coverage ratios, underfunding and implementing recovery plans, it makes sense for them to focus on low-risk, or income-focused investment categories with direct cash flows, such as residential real estate. High-quality rental housing is also socially relevant, ‘future-proof’ from the perspective of sustainability and has low price volatility, or risk, while acting as a hedge against inflation.”
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| Smart battery optimises energy production from solar panels |
| Bouwinvest has teamed up with energy consultancy firm Iwell to connect smart batteries to solar panels installed on an apartment complex in Utrecht to help optimise production and consumption of this renewable energy source. Following this successful pilot, we will roll out the smart storage system at six other locations. The partnership with Iwell is part of a broader energy reduction programme aimed at making our real estate portfolio ‘Paris Proof’ – or climate neutral – by 2045. |
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| Ivanhoé Cambridge, Bouwinvest and Greystar launch Paris housing venture for students and young professionals |
| Ivanhoé Cambridge, Bouwinvest and Greystar have announced a new ‘develop-to-core’ venture focused on funding purpose-built accommodation for students and young professionals in the Greater Paris Region, with an investment capacity of €1 billion. “The fundamentals of the student and young professional market are very robust. Demand for high-quality – but affordable – housing from student populations in metropolitan areas around the world remains strong. We have already invested in this segment in the Netherlands and Australia and via this new joint venture are now broadening our exposure and diversifying our allocation to France. This investment contributes to Bouwinvest’s objective of achieving a long-term solid return in a sustainable and responsible manner,” said Robert Koot, Director European Investments. |
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