Vesteda nominated for international BREEAM Award for its entire residential portfolio

Vesteda has been nominated for an international BREEAM Award in the ‘In-Use Performance’ category for existing buildings. What makes this nomination special is that Vesteda has not been nominated for a single building, but for its entire portfolio of over 28,000 homes. This makes Vesteda, in one fell swoop, the largest certified portfolio in the world to be nominated for this award.

Vesteda uses the BREEAM framework to systematically identify potential improvements in its portfolio in terms of energy and water use and CO₂ emissions. Thanks to the implementation of improvements based on this data, Vesteda has reduced consumption figures across the board: energy consumption has fallen from 101.9 to 89.1 kWh/m², water consumption is down from 0.84 to 0.70 m³/m² , while CO₂ emissions have dropped from 23.1 to 19.5 kg/m²

The story behind the figures
Behind these figures lies the story of Vesteda’s tenants: homes that are better insulated and feel more comfortable, tenants who spend less on energy, and neighbourhoods that are better places to live. At Vesteda, sustainability is not just a tick on a list or a section in the annual report; it is a fundamental part of what Vesteda sees as good property management. Vesteda does not just manage square metres, but the places that people call home.

Astrid Schlüter, Vesteda CEO: “This nomination shows that ‘Housing as a Force for Good’ is not just an empty phrase. It is what we do every single day. The fact that we can now demonstrate this at portfolio level, across all 28,000 of our homes, gives me the energy to do even more.”

The role of BREEAM
BREEAM plays a major role in this endeavour. Thanks to specific questions and metrics, it helps to drive operational improvements and promotes standardisation. This enables Vesteda to compare its results independently with other landlords both in the Netherlands and other countries.

Stephan de Bie, Head of ESG at Vesteda: “Portfolio-wide certification requires consistent data and a shared methodology across the entire organisation. The fact that we now have that foundation in place and the fact that our figures are moving in the right direction is thanks to the years we have spent building an integrated approach. This nomination is both a confirmation of our efforts and an incentive to do more.”

Award ceremony in London
We will find out if Vesteda has actually won the award at the official awards ceremony on 30 September in London.