Sustainability as a driving force: the success story of Base Investments

In a world where sustainability is starting to play an increasingly prominent role, Base Investments finds itself at an interesting crossroads between real estate, tenants and investors. Their internal mission is as clear as it is tantalising: convincing people that sustainability is not only good for the planet, but can also deliver financial value. In this customer case, Jelle Bader and Martijn Vink explain how they are embedding sustainability in the real estate and investment world.

The value of sustainability

The market often pays insufficient attention to sustainability and greenwashing is a growing problem. This is why Base Investments wants to demonstrate to their investors that sustainability has real value, both financially and for society as a whole. They had several scans conducted by CFP Green Buildings to illustrate the full value of sustainability: A BREEAM scan, an energy scan and a CRREM analysis. This ensures an integrated approach to reduce carbon emissions and energy usage and to make the world a little better.

Scans show the value of sustainability

One of the big questions Base Investments is tackling is how different reports and certifications, such as CRREM, EPCs and BREEAM, come together in the real estate and investment world. Jelle Bader: “We are determined to fully integrate sustainability into our investment plans. The scans we commissioned from CFP Green Buildings show us, on the one hand, what value our buildings currently have and what is needed to make them more sustainable. On the other hand, they also show what all sustainable investments are eventually worth, and that is very important to convince our investors.”

Inspiring and motivating investors

Jelle Bader emphasises how quickly CFP Green Buildings was able to make all the required data transparent. Jelle: “Within six months, all the necessary data was transparent in terms of energy usage, carbon emission reduction, BREEAM and CRREM.” Martijn Vink adds: “This also has immediate results. At first, budgets were purely financial, but now we also have a budget for carbon emission reduction, for example. Simply measuring and reporting creates awareness and it inspires and motivates investors, tenants and other stakeholders.”

“Sustainability is not only a noble goal, but also a sensible business choice in many cases. With the right data and conviction, real estate investors are increasingly seeing the financial value of sustainability.”

– Martijn Vink, Base Investments

Win-win-win situation

But the question that lingers is how to map the value of sustainability. However, Martijn argues that there is a win-win-win situation. Martijn: “Landlords have buildings that are easier to let, tenants have lower costs and the world benefits from sustainable initiatives. So three wins in a row.”

Next steps?

The scans have been conducted, but what are the next steps? Jelle explains: “Investors are ready to move forward with sustainability based on the estimates provided by CFP Green Buildings. For a number of buildings, we are now about to schedule the measures and then proceed to certification. One drawback: this process takes time. Fortunately, CFP’s reports and insights help us get quick approval from investors.”