CBRE partner Madaster

International real estate advisor CBRE has today signed a partnership agreement with Madaster Services, a platform dedicated to eliminating waste by issuing buildings with ‘materials passports’. These make it easier to reuse or recover construction materials.

CBRE Netherlands is currently generating the materials passport for its soon-to-open new office The CORE, in line with its ambition to apply the latest innovations in sustainability at these brand-new premises. The passport states how materials can be recycled or reused in the future, when CBRE eventually vacates the building.

Waste is material without an identity

Raw materials are limited and scarce. In order to keep them available in perpetuity, they need to be recorded so that they do not end up on the world’s ever-growing mountain of waste. At Madaster, materials and buildings are documented along with land use and ownership as recorded by the Land Registry.

Materials passport

Through Madaster, any property owner can have a materials passport drawn up for their building(s). This contains information about the quality and origin of the materials used, and their current location. By recording this information, the building becomes a documented ‘storage place' for materials.

“We are very proud,” says Martijn Oostenrijk, director of Madaster Services, “that CBRE, the world’s largest real estate advisor, is so keen to support Madaster in its mission to eliminate waste. And that they are willing to deploy their own network and market know-how to that end. The real estate sector is an essential player in efforts to become more sustainable, and in this respect CBRE is now taking an important first step. This partnership will contribute towards the development of the Madaster platform and encourage the use of material passports worldwide.”

Tim Habraken, Associate Director of Sustainability at CBRE, adds, “Sustainability is now inextricably linked with real estate, especially in light of the current and future government regulations in this area. Through our collaboration with Madaster, and with the renovation of The CORE, we want to show that sustainable, circular and responsible construction and refurbishment really are quite possible. By already thinking now about what will happen to the materials in our new office when the time finally comes to move on, we are making conscious choices for the future. Madaster offers an excellent tool for this. We are happy to be the first real estate advisor to make this step.”

The CORE

For its new office, The CORE, CBRE Netherlands is giving an old building a second life. The former Peugeot garage in Amsterdam is being transformed into a sustainable, healthy office which will pioneer the latest trends and developments in the world of real estate. The opening is planned for spring 2019.