S IMMO Germany shifts to renewable electricity

S IMMO Germany GmbH, a subsidiary of the Austrian S IMMO AG, is pursuing a very successful sustainability strategy for its portfolio. The focus is on the energy-related renovation of residential buildings, part of which the German Investitionsbank is already providing assistance with. As a result of these activities, rental income has risen by 3.3% and the occupancy rate has increased to 90% over the past 12 months.

The revitalisation programme will continue and will be expanded to include the conversion of the power supply for the common areas to electricity from 100% renewable energy sources. The contract partner, Naturstrom AG, was founded in 1998 as one of the first independent green electricity providers. The company only provides electricity from regenerative sources, and for each kilowatt-hour consumed by its customers, it invests a fixed amount in the construction of new green energy plants. This approach is what helped Naturstrom AG to become the first provider of green energy to receive the gold label from Grüner Strom Label e.V.

“As a real estate investor, we are aware of our responsibility towards society. Our revitalisation programme has allowed us to meet our tenants’ wishes for lower energy costs and to reduce CO₂ emissions. By shifting the German portfolio to green electricity, we will reduce CO₂ emissions by more than 1,100 metric tons each year, which corresponds to the amount offset by roughly 58,000 beech trees,” said Friedrich Wachernig, Member of S IMMO AG’s Management Board. In 2012, the amount of electricity from renewable energy sources in S IMMO Germany’s portfolio will come to around 1.8 million kilowatt-hours.