INCREASING SUSTAINABILITY ANNUAL REPORT 2015
Amvest believes that the real estate industry has a significant role to play in increasing sustainability in the built environment. As an important player in the industry, we embrace our responsibility to develop high-quality, sustainable homes for our tenants and their families, as we are convinced that investments in sustainable areas and homes will benefit our tenants, our stakeholders, our organization and society as a whole.
INCREASING SUSTAINABILITY ANNUAL REPORT 2015
THREE DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY To be a successful investment manager in the long term, the business has to be sustainable. At Amvest, we distinguish three dimensions of sustainability. The real estate portfolio, the management of the funds, and our stakeholders. These dimensions are linked to the ESG triangle, consisting of Environmental, Social and Governance focus areas.
Real
Sust Fund
Stak
Fund Management Sustainability is a prime focus of Amvest Investment Management. By managing real estate funds sustainable, Amvest believes this will contribute positively to the goals of the funds. The funds have had a clear sustainability policy in place as from the start of 2013. It is based on a mid-term strategy and a concrete annual action plan. In our mid-term strategy, we point out themes that we strive to realize within three years. These themes are: • Developing and implementing low-energy strategies for common spaces in all our fully owned apartment buildings. The energy performance will be closely monitored by new energy monitoring systems. • Creating various energy-neutral common spaces by using new energy sources based on the results of yearly pilot projects. • Implementing a sustainable procurement policy.
(SOURCE: VASTGOEDJOURNAAL 03-03-2015)
• Implementing a communication plan to motivate and assist our tenants in making the best use of all the facilities of their energy-efficient home. • Defining and implementing a policy regarding water and waste. The mid-term strategy is supported by a one-year action plan. Our action plan for 2015 made tangible all the steps that were needed in order to realize the strategic goals. The aspects in the one-year action plan are linked to the three dimensions of the ESG triangle. The actions concerning the management where: • Set up a joint sustainability policy with property managers for maintenance and renovation. The result of this action was that a sustainability event for the property managers and tenants’ associations has been organized in 2015. Besides these events, all property managers set up a communication plan for tenants. • Define a waste policy for the funds. The result was that the differences between the cities we invest in were that large that this is taken care of on property level by our property managers.
Amvest signs deal on first zero-energy tower block in the Netherlands On 3 March 2015, Amvest Investment Management signed a turnkey agreement with developer Hurks for the @Home Amstelkwartier project, a 73 metres tall tower block containing commercial spaces at the base and 160 rented apartments. This will be the first zero net energy apartment building in the Netherlands, featuring high-performance roof and wall insulation, a heat recovery system for the showers, CO-based demand-controlled ventilation, and a floor heating system that is connected to the district heating network. Solar panels will be installed on the roof to generate power for the apartments. The building was designed by Mecanoo Architects in Delft, and will take only eighteen months to construct.
INCREASING SUSTAINABILITY ANNUAL REPORT 2015
(SOURCE: IVVD, Instituut voor Vastgoed en Duurzaamheid, 31-8-2015)
Amvest transforms office buildings in The Hague into apartments In August of 2015, Amvest Investment Management acquired three stepped office buildings at a prominent location in The Hague from a private owner. The property, with a total floor space of 10,850 m, will be included in the investment portfolio of the Amvest Residential Core Fund (ARC Fund) and will be transformed into apartments by Amvest Development. Entirely in line with Amvest’s strategy and ambitions, the unique combination of project development and investment management enables Amvest to add sustainable mid-segment rental apartments to the growth strategy driven ARC Fund, while at the same time meeting pressing needs in society.
The fund management is responsible for a sustainable strategy. The funds meet the highest criteria of our supervisors, including De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and Autoriteit Financiële Markten (Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, AFM). The funds fulfill the ISAE 3402 type II criteria and we require from our property managers that they also fulfil these criteria. In addition, the funds meet the criteria of the AIFMD (Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive). Finally, Amvest has strict risk and compliance guidelines in place. Finally Amvest actively participated in various sustainability platforms and the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC) and IVBN.
The real estate portfolio The portfolio consists of two funds: Amvest Residential Core Fund (ARC Fund) and Amvest Residential Dynamic Fund (ARD Fund. The ARC Fund is the flagship portfolio and is truly sustainable with mostly an ‘A’ or ‘B’ energy label. The ARC Fund pursues an active policy of rejuvenating the portfolio to keep it youthful and sustainable in terms of using technologies to offer an ideal level of comfort and to reduce energy consumption and the environmental burden. The ARC and ARD Fund participate in the GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) survey. The goal is continuous improvement and to achieve Green Star
status, which means the ARC Fund performs above average and has guidelines in place regarding sustainability. In 2015, the ARC Fund preserved its Green Star status and improved on its results by 3%. The ARD Fund consists of older real estate and the focus is on disposition. However, this portfolio was awarded a Green Star as well due to active management. A small note is that the 2015 score is based on the results in 2014. The funds’ objective for 2016 is to continue to improve their ranking and to preserve their Green Star status. The one year action plan regarding the real estate portfolio consists of the following actions: • Implement a pilot project with solar or wind energy. The result is that several pilots were started with solar energy for both single and multifamily homes. These pilots give input to develop our strategy for solar energy on a fund level. • Set targets for energy efficiency in common areas and car parks (follow-up on installation of smart meters) and achieve them. The result is that in all common areas and carparks where we have full ownership, smart meters and LED lamps are set up. The data will be monitored using a Data Monitoring System (DMS). In 2015, a DMS was implemented to monitor and manage energy consumption in the common areas of apartment blocks, especially the use of electricity. This information enables us to respond promptly to high electricity
consumption in properties, for example by installing LED lights. The goal is to monitor and achieve efficiency. Not only the use of electricity but also the type of electricity is important. The electricity of the common areas of all of our fully owned properties is supplied by Greenchoice, which means we have 100% renewable energy. Furthermore, we have launched a pilot with solar energy in properties including the ‘Chicago’ property in Hoofddorp, as well as a pilot in which we offer tenants a solar energy package for their homes to generate their own electricity. Our main priority is to ensure that our tenants can enjoy the highest possible quality of life in a home that meets their exact needs. Our Schedule of Requirements for newly built homes requires the use of high quality materials, with low maintenance costs, low energy consumption and comfortable living areas. In Amsterdam, the ARC Fund acquired the project ‘Amstelkwartier’, which contains 160 net zero energy apartments. All of the apartments have solar panels that generate enough energy for a small household. Besides energy consumption, it is important that our homes have a long lifespan. So we invest in regions that have a long-term demand for our property. In 2015 the funds, in the Dutch residential peer group of the GRESB, were positioned as a Green Star. The funds’ goal for 2016 is to
INCREASING SUSTAINABILITY ANNUAL REPORT 2015
continue to improve the level of sustainability in the daily operations which also means we preserve the Green Star status.
living. Every Amvest tenants’ association is automatically a member of the platform and is welcome to attend these meetings.
Tenants’ associations Tenants should feel at home with Amvest. Therefore, Amvest strives to keep close contact with its tenants in order to know how they feel about their home and living environment. Amvest actively supports the establishment of tenants’ associations in its properties. These tenants’ associations discuss daily management and service levels with the property managers on a regular basis. Tenants’ associations can also give advice to Amvest on more strategic issues.
In our one year action plan we stated that we want to set up communication lines with tenants and tenants’ associations to make tenants more aware of sustainability and to assist them in best benefiting from their sustainable home. The result is that our property managers set up plans and put the plans into place. Also during the yearly Amvest Tenants platform event the theme was sustainability so that we could get more insight in the demands of the tenants on this subject.
Tenants’ platform The platform for Amvest tenants is an initiative by and for tenants that was founded over fifteen years ago. The platform is a national umbrella organization that represents the interests of all tenants’ associations affiliated with Amvest. Because Amvest takes the opinions expressed by the platform very seriously, there are periodic meetings with the platform and the Fund Manager. These meetings take place at least twice a year. Its agenda includes topics that transcend the local tenants’ association meetings with the external property manager of individual properties. The platform’s management is chosen by and from the affiliated tenants’ associations. The platform organizes an annual meeting for members and an annual event based on a theme related to renting or
Tenant satisfaction survey
Tenant satisfaction is measured by means of an annual client satisfaction survey conducted by an external consultant among a representative sample of tenants. The survey assesses their satisfaction with the homes, maintenance, the living environment, and the services provided by the property managers. Additional monthly surveys measure the entire process related to new and departing tenants and applications for repair work. Four residential investment managers started a tenant satisfaction benchmark. Amvest was one of the initiators. The goal is to score a 7,5 as overall score. According to USP, which is the company that performs the interviews, this is an acceptable level. The score at complaint handling is remarkably low.
In 2016 this will be an important topic regarding stakeholder management.
information flow is on a high level and meets the demands of institutional investors.
Based on the results of the annual customer satisfaction survey, several individual meetings with external property managers were organized to discuss their performance relating to customers. After this meeting, the property managers are required to submit a so-called focus plan that puts forward improvement measures. The Fund Manager and the external property managers are committed on the basis of this focus plan to work actively to increase customer satisfaction.
Employees
TENANT SATISFACTION (SOURCE: USP MARKETING CONSULTANCY)
scores scores ARC Fund ARD Fund benchmark 2015 2015 2015
Overall score
7,1
7.1
7.0
Quality of home
7,6
7.4
7.4
Living environment
7,3
7.6
7.4
Service level
6,7
6.9
6.6
Property management
6,5
6.7
6.6
Repair requests
6,4
6.5
6.4
Complaint handling
4,5
4.6
4.7
Shareholders
The number of shareholders has largely increased within the ARC Fund. The information flow to shareholders is essential. This is a continuous focus area. The fact that so many new shareholders joined the ARC Fund proves that the reporting standards and
In 2015 Amvest conducted an employee satisfactory survey. The outcomes were discussed. Overall the outcomes were positive and certain actions were performed to improve the satisfactory, for example a HR consultancy firm was hired to investigate the salary level of the employees compared to the average in the sector we operate in. Green future
In the past years we mostly focused on the real estate portfolio and the tenants. For 2016 we aim to further improve the results on these subjects and balance the focus on the three aspects. Also the link between the areas is important. For example to create more awareness under tenants about how to make use of energy saving aspects of their home. At Amvest, we are proud of the progress and success we have achieved so far, and we are committed to investing in a sustainable, prosperous, and green future for our tenants, our stakeholders and our organization.