Bouwinvest Residential Fund improves sustainability of 685 homes in Diemen-Noord: annual saving of 815 tonnes of CO2

The Bouwinvest Residential Fund has successfully completed a project to improve the sustainability of its entire residential portfolio in Diemen-Noord. The Fund improved the sustainability of a total of 685 homes from an average C energy label to an average A energy label. This project is part of the Fund’s strategy to make its entire real estate portfolio Paris Proof and was completed this past summer. The measures taken are a significant step on the path to a CO₂-neutral portfolio in 2045.

The sustainability measures included a wide range of interventions, such as the replacement of outdated central heating boilers with hybrid systems, which are expected to reduce gas consumption for heating by 50 to 60 percent.

At the same time, the homes were fitted with CO₂-controlled mechanical ventilation and gap sealing was improved to minimise heat loss. The Fund took additional measures in its apartment complexes, including the installation of solar panels, improved roof and wall insulation, and the replacement of existing glazing with HR++ windows.

The actions taken as part of this sustainability drive will not only reduce energy demand, but also make the energy mix more sustainable. The investment in these homes will result in an estimated annual CO₂ reduction of 815 tonnes, based on the average energy use of households. This reduction is equivalent to the emissions of between 165 and 200 households per year.

Paul van Stiphout, Fund Manager Dutch Residential Investments at Bouwinvest, explains: “We started the process of making hundreds of homes in Diemen more sustainable back in 2020. This kind of project requires careful planning and execution, using scheduled maintenance moments to limit the impact on residents and the local environment. This ensured that this intervention went as smoothly as possible. Sustainability plays an increasingly important role in the valuation and future-proofing of homes, so in that sense, too, we have taken a significant step in the preservation of the value of our investments.”

Collaboration with tenants and the local council was key to getting these renovations done. “That collaboration is crucial for us to achieve our shared goals. So we are grateful for the way we tackled this together, because initiatives like this regularly fail due to poor cooperation, transparency and communication between the various parties.”

Improving the sustainability of our Diemen-Noord residential assets will make a significant contribution to achieving our Paris Proof target, which is to make our portfolio CO2 neutral by 2045, thanks to a drastic reduction in energy consumption and a full transition to renewable energy sources. “We not only want to meet the climate requirements set out in the Paris Agreement for 2050, we also aim to achieve these requirements five years earlier,” Van Stiphout says.

The experiences the Fund gained in Diemen will be factored into future sustainability projects within Bouwinvest's portfolio, so future projects will run even more smoothly.