Why sustainable office space is hot property in the Netherlands

Kasper Oudshoorn, Channel Manager, Projects, Somfy Netherlands, discusses the high demand for sustainable office space and the challenge businesses face to meet 2023 deadline

As of January 1st, 2023, the Dutch government will require any office in the Netherlands larger than 100m² to have an energy label C or above. This applies to both new and existing structures.

When it comes to designing, building or renovating office spaces, sustainability is no longer an optional extra, it’s a requirement. The new legislation has clear deadlines that must be met, but in order to reach them there is still a lot of work to be done.

How do we know this? According to experts, 40% of CO2 emissions in the Netherlands come from the built environment. Add to that research published by Savills which suggests an estimated 11% of current office space fails to meet the new criteria, and 32% of workplaces have no energy label at all.

As a result, building owners are now far more aware of the role that real estate and construction play in achieving the targets set out by the government to reduce carbon emissions. By adopting a more sustainable approach to property development, we can not only reduce our carbon footprint but also have a positive impact on employee wellbeing.

The challenge

Demand for offices with an energy rating of at least A in the Netherlands has more than doubled in the past decade, from 24% in 2011 to 53% in 2021. However, in Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague there is approximately 1.8 million sq. ft that does not meet the new regulations.

With just over two years until the deadline that raises the question of whether the goal is realistic? Especially when you consider the speed at which retrofits are being carried out. According to Savills, the number of non-sustainable offices declined by just 12% between 2018 to 2020.

There is a genuine concern that offices or buildings that cannot be upgraded will become abandoned assets as they’ll be ‘unrentable’. However, there are incentives in place to encourage building owners to act. The ‘green premium’ for example, is a scheme designed to allow tenants and landlords to make agreements on the steps that need to be taken to ensure their building is compliant with the new regulations.

How is Somfy supporting the construction of sustainable buildings?

We’ve seen a sharp increase in the use of new technologies by architects and construction companies as they continue to find innovative ways of achieving sustainability targets. Retrofitting will soon become the norm and solutions such as smart solar shading will be essential to optimising building performance.

We have completed both renovation projects and new, purpose built buildings, that have sustainability high on the agenda. For example, we’re delighted to have provided Triodos Bank with a building control solution for balancing daylight that contributes to creating the optimum indoor climate for the occupants of their Utrecht office.

Triodos moved into the fully sustainable and circular office in 2019. It was one of the first large-scale, 100% wood, reconstructible office buildings and has a minimal CO2 footprint.

In order to control the buildings automated solar shading, we provided them with our animeo KNX solution, which guarantees optimum daylight management, glare protection and better viewing comfort. The intelligently controlled, automated shading system contributes to energy efficiency by reducing the need for artificial lighting and heating and cooling as well as using data from a weather station in order to react to real-time environmental conditions.

The impact of sustainability on productivity

Employees are an integral part of business; however, they are also the largest cost to an organisation. It’s estimated that the average annual cost-breakdown for office-based businesses is 1% for energy, 9% for rent and operations, and the remaining 90% covers staffing costs.

Companies are now prioritising employee health and wellbeing as it can have a significant impact on their productivity as well as overall business performance.

For example, research conducted by the World Green Building Council found that incorporating health and wellbeing features into the workplace delivered significant results. By increasing staff’s exposure to daylight, enhancing fresh air ventilation and reducing noise levels there was a reduction in employee absences, operating costs were minimised, and staff felt healthier and more productive.

An additional study conducted by the Helsinki University of Technology and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory supported this theory. It found that performance rates at work increased when room temperatures were between 21oC and 22oC, and productivity is at its peak at 22oC. So, solutions such as smart solar shading could play an important role in creating the ideal working environment for employees as well as helping achieve sustainability targets.

What does the future hold for sustainable buildings in the Netherlands?

There is no doubt that improving sustainability is a slow process due to the shortage of materials and skilled workers. Companies are also beginning to prioritise working from home due to the impact of the pandemic as they have seen the benefits this brings for their bottom line and employee’s overall happiness. Savills predict that the pace of sustainable upgrades to current building stock in the Netherlands will be between 10% and 30%, which suggests by 2023 the number of ‘unrentable’ offices will have significantly increased with the vacancy rate dropping to 6.9% in 2023.

Sustainable buildings are vital to the future of the planet and with clear deadlines in place, the Netherlands’ five major cities have work to do in order to meet government targets. However, unlike other European countries, there is a clear plan in place to improve the country’s building stock and help businesses decrease their carbon emissions.

To find out more about Somfy can help your business achieve sustainable objectives, visit Somfy Projects | Sustainable buildings with occupant comfort at the centre