BREEAM certification

On the basis of the new BREEAM-NL In-Use Residential guideline, Vesteda had almost its entire residential portfolio of 27,500 homes certified in one go in 2022. It was and still is the world’s largest residential certification achieved in one go. This also immediately created the largest BREEAM-certified real estate portfolio in the world. So this certification was not only a significant milestone for Vesteda, but also for BREEAM-NL itself.

Stephan de Bie, Sustainability Programme Manager at Vesteda: “We worked hard with our partners to certify our entire portfolio in one go and we are very pleased with the result. The BREEAM-NL certificates give us greater insight into the sustainability performance of our complexes: in term of energy consumption, but also in other areas, such as accessibility, use of materials and biodiversity. Incidentally, the BREEAM-NL certificates are not our final goal; we see them as the starting point for the continued improvement of the sustainability performance of our residential portfolio.”

Rudy van der Helm, Development and Management Programme Manager at the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC): “We are extremely proud that Vesteda is using BREEAM-NL to make its portfolio more sustainable. It is quite something to achieve the certification of such a large portfolio within a year. The baseline measurement that Vesteda has now performed provides a great deal of insight and creates opportunities for additional sustainability measures. We are looking forward to seeing the steps that follow on the basis of this.”

Providing proof
The large-scale certification, which required a lot of proof, such as construction drawings, floor plans, inspection reports and all kinds of photos, was carried out with the help of a BREEAM-NL expert from CFP Green Buildings and a BREEAM-NL assessor from Longevity Partners.

Simone Tabor, managing partner of consultancy at CFP Green Buildings: “In 2022, we guided Vesteda through the first step in making their residential portfolio more sustainable. This was a very exciting and special project for CFP, which has been using its knowledge and experience in sustainability certifications for many years. The above-mentioned result was thanks to our intensive cooperation with all the parties involved. This is a significant milestone for Vesteda and for us, and at the same time the starting point for the continued improvement of the sustainability of the 27,500 homes.”

Roger Toussaint, managing director at Longevity Partners BV: “BREEAM-NL In-Use Residential was developed to measure and improve the sustainability performance of existing homes. In 2021, Longevity participated in the development of the assessment guideline and I am therefore proud of the team that delivered over 630 certificates in 2022 to map the sustainability of almost 27,500 homes. It is extraordinary to see how Vesteda is addressing the results of the assessment for further sustainability improvements in the future. This project shows that it is possible to certify large portfolios in an efficient way, while also getting to work on improving sustainability.”

New BREEAM-NL guideline
Building Research Establishment (BRE) and the DGBC teamed up develop the new BREEAM-NL In-Use Residential guideline. Vesteda felt that there was no appropriate, independent certification method to map the sustainability performance of its residential portfolio and compare it with other homes. This is why Vesteda supported BRE and the DGBC in this development.