Energy Efficiency and Consumption

GRI 3-3

Before we can select suitable means of enhancing energy efficiency and thereby reducing the amount of energy needed, it is essential that we have transparent usage data for residential and commercial properties.

Our residential tenants’ annual energy consumption stands at 101 kWh/m² in the reporting year. This puts us well below the average usage figures for Germany’s housing stock, according to studies by ENTRANZE (–39%) and DENA, the German Energy Agency (–46%). All of our residential properties are connected to the city of Wolfsburg’s district heating network, which has a positive effect on our carbon footprint. Due to the high energy standard of our housing, at 67 kWh/m² the average heating energy used is also well below the average German figure of 137 kWh/m² (–51% compared to ENTRANZE).

Annual energy consumption at our self-occupied office properties stands at 118 kWh/m² in the reporting year. Heating accounts for 48% of this, while electricity makes up the remaining 52%. Compared with the average total consumption of existing office space in Germany, our figures are likewise much lower than those quoted in the studies by ENTRANZE (–30%) and DENA (–16%). Our self-occupied offices are also connected to Wolfsburg’s district heating network and display a high level of energy efficiency. This enables us to post a figure which is 66% lower than the average heating energy consumption reported for office space in Germany by ENTRANZE.

Due to the war in Ukraine, we encountered considerable challenges and government stipulations requiring us to reduce energy usage significantly in the year under review. The actions taken were coordinated by the Volkswagen AG crisis task force, which included representatives from the various brands and sites in Europe as well as VW Kraftwerk GmbH in Wolfsburg. In connection with this, VWI implemented its own energy-saving concept, which was based in part on its experience of responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Remote working and desk sharing made it possible to reduce the amount of office space used and lower the temperature in the redundant space.

To further reduce our energy consumption figures, we constantly strive to boost our properties’ energy efficiency. At present, adherence to the specific requirements of the EG40EE energy efficiency standard and DGNB Gold certification is required whenever newbuild projects are planned at Volkswagen Immobilien. This involves assessing the overall performance of a building using criteria relating to environmental quality, economic quality, sociocultural and functional quality, technical quality, process quality and site quality. We have set out this approach in an internal BLUE BUILDING company directive. An energy efficiency expert (KfW auditor) and one of our two internally qualified DGNB auditors must be involved in the realization of newbuild projects to ensure that they meet the BEG criteria for financial assistance and successfully pass the DGNB conformity assessment. This approach ensures that all relevant sustainability aspects are integrated into projects at the earliest possible stage.

Since we launched the standard, all residential and commercial newbuild projects at Volkswagen Immobilien have complied with the BLUE BUILDING criteria. In 2022, we further developed the old BLUE BUILDING 2019 standard, for example based on the Efficiency House 40 EE criteria as set out in the German funding program for efficient buildings (BEG).^[1] Other new additions include defining concrete carbon reduction targets for both operation and construction, planning various options to achieve climate-neutrality, developing passive, low-tech energy concepts, selecting sustainable locations by prioritizing brownfield sites and avoiding building in water-stressed areas, and increasing use intensity by optimizing floor plans.

In our efforts to make our buildings more energy-efficient, we pay particular attention to the heating, façade design and lighting of our properties. For instance, for heating in our portfolio we give preference to low-carbon heating systems. We only use district heating for modernized properties if a connection is obligatory or there are exceptional financial circumstances. In the residential sector, alternative energy concepts are implemented when properties are refurbished to ensure that heat is supplied via heat pumps, solar thermal systems and photovoltaics as well as district heating. A property in the Fallersleben district of Wolfsburg is currently being redeveloped with this in mind. In the commercial division, we are focusing on heat pump technology combined with the installation of photovoltaic systems. For instance, the plans for the new Volkswagen dealership in southern Hanover, which will be completed in 2023, have been changed to use geothermal technology instead of gas-fired heating.

As well as choosing the lowest-emission heating possible, we are investing in the optimization of our building façades. For instance, depending on the direction in which they face, façades are fitted with features that provide shade and reduce heat ingress in the summer. These features go well beyond the legal requirements. We are also assessing the viability of innovative façade materials which have an exceptionally low carbon footprint or can be used to harvest energy.

Furthermore, by choosing LED bulbs, we use a low-emission form of lighting. This technology is also used for the public infrastructure at Steimker Gärten, which we will hand over to the city of Wolfsburg following completion. Whenever residential properties are refurbished, we switch to LED bulbs. LED lighting is already used throughout our commercial portfolio.

[1] At the end of 2020, this requirement and Germany’s new Buildings Energy Act (GEG) replaced the German Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV), which previously applied. Since then, they have formed the basis for all subsidized measures to improve buildings’ energy performance. Under the Efficiency House 40 EE requirements, renewables must provide at least 55% of the energy needed to heat and cool the building.