Savills, the international property expert and Longevity Partners, the pan-European low carbon consultancy, have been appointed to carry out the first BREEAM In-Use (BIU) sample-based certification pilot to cover 331 retail assets across Europe (excluding Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and Germany).
An initiative of Redevco and BRE, the pilot is a global first for the building sustainability certification industry.
Redevco is one of the leading pan-European retail real estate investment managers with a total lease area of 3.2 million sq. m. in 11 countries.
With the aim of certifying close to 100% of its assets under management against the BIU scheme by 2021, it welcomes the opportunity for this cost-effective and efficient certification process presented by BRE (the Building Research Establishment), in partnership with Savills and Longevity.
Under the pilot, the existing certified assets in the Netherlands, the UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal will be assessed. The pilot will assist in establishing a methodology to increase the efficiency of evidence collection and verification for large portfolios seeking to maintain certification, whilst not undermining the robustness of the BIU scheme.
Audit selection will be conducted using a risk-based approach, as well as a randomised control group, to ensure that the outcome is representative of the overall group. This innovative approach to addressing the maintenance (renewal or re-certification) of a large volume of BIU certified assets will enable Redevco to reduce the total cost necessary to meet its certification ambitions significantly.
Head of sustainable operations at Redevco, Clemens Brenninkmeijer, said: “Certification is a requisite starting point to understand how to future-proof the various assets we manage. It is therefore important to ensure proper re-certification of our assets under management on a rolling basis. This sample-based audit approach allows us to do this in a cost effective way, making it possible for us to focus our efforts on improving the quality of the properties.”
Sustainability consultant at Savills, Alan Page, said: “BIU is a powerful tool in understanding the operational performance of commercial buildings, particularly when it is applied on the scale that Redevco has achieved. However, the resource and cost required for continued maintenance of certification across a portfolio is often daunting, if not a barrier to entry entirely for most property companies.
“We are delighted to be working with Redevco, BRE and Longevity on this project, given their commitment to sustainability and experience in using BREEAM as a tool for improving the quality of real estate assets. We hope that this project will enhance the BIU scheme, so that it is better aligned with the operational requirements of Redevco and the real estate sector as a whole.”