In 2021 and 2022, an analysis of the entire Ina Invest development portfolio was carried out based on the SIA Energy Efficiency Path (2040:2017).
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Portfolio analysis and decarbonisation strategy
GRI 2-4, 3-3
The aim of this analysis was to determine where the individual development projects and the entire portfolio stand in relation to the key indicators non-renewable primary energy and greenhouse gas emis-sions and what measures must be taken to pursue a step-by-step decarbonisation of the portfolio over the future course of project development and for future projects.
SIA 2040 covers the three areas of construction, operation, and mobility as well as life cycle of a property, from creation, use, any replacement investment while in use and the end of its life. Two fig-ures must be complied with to meet the requirements of the SIA Energy Efficiency Path: the target (across all three sub-areas) and the additional requirement (only for construction and operation). There are guideline values within the three areas as well, which allow possible deficits in the respective areas to be identified. Targets, additional requirements, and guideline values are adapted to the building categories housing, administration, school, specialist store, grocery store, and restaurant.
The figure below shows all Ina Invest development projects with their current project values in construction and operation. The portfolio consists of 21 buildings: 17 residential buildings, 3 office buildings and 1 hotel. With one exception, all the buildings are new constructions. Mobility was shown separately (see Figure 5) to allow for a comparison with the requirements of SNSB. In each case, the additional re-quirement of SIA 2040 is marked as a yellow vertical bar, while the requirement for SNSB certification to achieve a satisfactory score of at least 4 points is marked as a white bar. It is clear that the majority of projects do not achieve the ambitious additional requirement of SIA 2040, however, the minimum requirement for SNBS certification is met with the exception of two projects. The CO2 footprint of the entire portfolio for construction and operation is 14.3 kg CO2-eq./m2·a, i.e. approximately 15% more than the additional requirement of the SIA Energy Efficiency Path. With the aim of cutting the CO2 foot-print, recommendations for optimisation have been defined for the development of individual pro-jects.
Mobility-related emissions are largely determined by the choice of location. A good location is also key to whether a project’s guideline value can be achieved. 11 out of 20 projects meet the SIA guide-line value for mobility. 8 of these 11 projects are located in one of the core cities. The three remaining projects are located in agglomerations but meet the guideline value despite this. Of the nine projects that do not comply with the guideline value from SIA 2040, eight projects are located in agglomera-tion municipalities. A maximum deviation of 20% from the SIA guideline value is permitted to achieve a satisfactory mark of at least 4 points for SNBS certification. 14 of 20 projects meet this requirement.
The cross-portfolio average figures for construction and operation highlight the fact that Ina Invest is in a very good starting position compared to the benchmarks in Switzerland and Europe. The aver-age greenhouse gas emissions generated from our operations amount to 3.8 kg CO2-eq./m2·a. This means that Ina Invest is well below the decarbonisation path for Swiss apartment buildings derived from CRREM, for example. As far as construction is concerned, the portfolio’s average carbon emis-sions amount to 10.5 kg CO2-eq./m2·a.
In the long term, Ina Invest seeks to decarbonise the portfolio entirely (net zero) and would like to take a pioneering role in achieving the 1.5 degree target of the Paris climate agreement. At the end of 2022, an ambitious decarbonisation strategy was defined in collaboration with sustainability experts, developers, asset managers and both the Management Board and the Board of Directors of Ina In-vest. This marks a distinction between new and existing buildings and between operational emissions and embodied emissions. The aim is to achieve net zero for operational emissions by 2030 for new buildings and by 2050 for existing buildings. Embodied emissions, from the delivery phase, will grad-ually be reduced to net zero by 2040 for new buildings. As can be seen in the decarbonisation path-way in Figure 8, projects are allocated a “carbon budget” at the start of SIA phase 2, which has to be complied with during subsequent development, implementation and operation. This process is moni-tored accordingly, so optimisation measures can be identified early and implemented. Ina Invest is aware of the future challenges relating to design and the choice of materials and systems especially in terms of embodied emissions, not least in light of economic considerations. Given the worsening cli-mate crisis, Ina Invest is keen on facing these challenges and proactively contributing to a fully decar-bonised building stock by integrating innovative approaches.
