Our environmental impact
The real estate industry is drastically impacted by changes in the climate and new climate-change regulation, changing the state of play for property owners. Actively working with limiting and reducing environmental impacts is, therefore, crucial to being able to deal with the challenges of tomorrow and to future-proof a sustainable real estate business.
Energy
Reduced energy consumption and the use of renewable energy sources contributes to reduced climate impacts through reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Eastnine, as a property owner, is able to affect the energy usage in its properties using energy-efficient technical systems, processes, and requirements in property operations, as well as through a close dialogue with tenants around energy use. Our efforts with energy efficiency are chiefly driven by the demands placed on our properties during environmental certification processes, as well as our environmental policy. Eastnine aims to use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030, and to reduce the energy intensity by 25 per cent from 2019 to 2025. Eastnine also aims to obtain a total of 80 per cent of all possible points in the energy category of all new environmental certificates for our properties.
Carbon dioxide emissions
Eastnine aims to be climate-neutral in its property operations and reach net zero emissions by 2030. Data collection relating to carbon dioxide emissions from our properties begun in 2018, including carbon dioxide emissions from our tenants’ energy consumption, and the calculations were carried out according to the GHG Protocol. Eastnine’s strategy to reduce emissions is focused on improved energy efficiency and an increased share of renewable energy in the energy provision for our properties. At present, all purchased electricity comes from renewable sources, and the main part of remaining emissions relate to district heating. Eastnine’s target is to reach 100 per cent renewable energy in our development projects and is therefore looking for solutions to help diversify from district heating to on-site production of e.g. geothermal and solar energy. Eastnine has introduced an internal requirement to perform a life cycle analysis in all new development projects and will report built-in carbon dioxide in development projects. Eastnine works to develop routines and tools for mapping emissions in connection with renovation and tenant adaptations. Carbon dioxide emissions are analysed throughout the life-cycle of a property, from the construction phase including material use, all the way into the demolition process.
WGBC’s definition of “net zero carbon
Environmental certifications
Environmental certification of both existing properties and new developments is one of our main tools to reach our environmental goals. Certification of our properties also helps us adapt and tailor our offering to the increased demands made by our customers. We certify our portfolio mainly according to LEED and BREEAM, where LEED Gold and BREEAM Excellent, respectively, are the lowest acceptable levels. The certification process should begin within six months from the date of acquisition, unless the property is expected to undergo significant redevelopment. At present, 94 per cent of our area is certified according to LEED Gold or Platinum (the highest level achievable) or BREEAM Excellent. Certification processes are underway or will commence for the remaining area within short.
Environmental certifications of our properties
Materials use in the construction process
The environmental impact of the real estate industry is, to a significant extent, attributable to construction and development projects. To minimise Eastnine's negative impact on the environment, we need to deal with issues relating to e.g. construction waste, construction site working conditions, carbon dioxide emissions relating to our use of materials, and transports to and from construction sites. Eastnine plans to build the first wooden office building in Riga. The life-cycle analysis of carbon dioxide emissions, including embedded carbon dioxide, which will be prepared in conjunction with construction will also be used as a comparison for future development projects.