HEUVEL Eindhoven strengthens its position as the most sustainable shopping centre in Europe

Shopping centre HEUVEL in Eindhoven has received the highest achievable certificate in the area of sustainability: a double BREAAM-NL In-Use Outstanding in the categories of ‘asset’ and ‘management’. HEUVEL is and remains the most sustainable shopping centre in Europe. It also ranks number 1 in the TOP100 BREEAM-NL In-Use, a ranking of the most sustainable buildings in use in the Netherlands. This top achievement was made possible thanks to the commitment and strong cooperation of various parties.

Number 1 ranking

As the certification body, the Dutch Green Building Council officially approved the certificate and also composed the TOP100. Thomas Metz, Programme Manager for Existing Properties at DGBC: “CBRE and Global Investors continue to improve the HEUVEL shopping centre, showing that a long-term vision helps achieve a higher sustainability performance for existing buildings. The number 1 spot on the BREEAM-NL In-Use TOP100 is more than deserved.”

Improvements

Three years ago, HEUVEL Eindhoven was also evaluated, receiving also a double ‘Outstanding’ certificate. This means that, in both categories, the building scored over 85% of the total number of points. Sustainability performance has now been further improved, particularly in the area of management, where the score went up from 90.8% to 95%.

A number of specific points that have improved in the last three years:

• A total of 1179 solar panels have been installed on the entire roof;
• The energy index has further improved from 0.68 to 0.42, which is equal to energy label A and almost as good as new builds;
• The thermal energy storage facility has been adjusted and balanced, resulting in reduced energy loss;
• Approximately 20% of the shopping centre’s total energy consumption is generated sustainably and locally.

Reducing CO₂ emissions by 150,000 kg per year

The CBRE Property Management team, which manages HEUVEL Eindhoven, worked with CBRE Global Investors and the CBRE Development Services Team to develop the sustainability strategy. “This allows us to make smart and sustainable choices at all stages of the building’s life cycle, at the most natural point in time, as part of the maintenance plan,” says Martijn Ploegmakers, Technical Manager at CBRE. “Thanks to recent improvements we expect to be able to reduce our CO₂ emissions by over 150,000 kilograms annually.”

“As you can see, there is still a lot to be gained from a building that already performs well in the area of sustainability,” adds Jasmin Koolhaas, BREEAM-NL expert at CBRE. “It is also quite an achievement because of the building’s age. The shopping centre is 28 years old but scores just as high in the area of sustainability as new builds – and even better in some areas.”

Long-term vision

“The fund that this property is part of has a long-term horizon,” explains Niels Coolen, Asset Manager at CBRE Global Investors. “As an organisation we have set ourselves ambitious sustainability goals and we feel it is important to make and keep our properties as sustainable and future-proof as possible. The BREEAM-NL certificate is used to monitor and continuously improve sustainability performance. This means we use it as a policy instrument and not something to be used as a one-off, which explains why we recertify every three years.”

Independent BREEAM check

The complete BREEAM check was performed by independent third party W4Y. Jan Roersen, director at W4Y: “HEUVEL Eindhoven is a very special project. I have been involved since the very first certification in 2011. By now, CBRE Global Investors has made improvements to this property for the fifth time and has gone from a Very Good to a double Outstanding certificate. This shows how well BREEAM-NL In-Use can be used to focus on the sustainability performance of properties and portfolios. I am proud to have been given the opportunity to contribute to these incredible results”.

De HEUVEL is an investment of CBRE Dutch Retail Fund, a non-listed real estate fund of CBRE Global Investors and Stichting Gemeenschappelijke Pensioenfondsen Eindhoven, managed by Syntrus Achmea. The shopping centre is managed by CBRE’s Property Management team. Together with the Development Services team, this team is responsible for the development and the implementation of the BREEAM strategy.