Sponda Plc Press release 29 March 2017 at 10:00 a.m.
Sponda achieves great sustainability results in 2016
Sponda's sustainability and responsibility work continued in 2016 with great results. In 2016, Sponda increased the number of properties with environmental certification as up to seven properties achieved or renewed their international LEED® or BREEAM® certifications. The certified properties represent 25 per cent of the total leasable space of Sponda's property portfolio. There were several active certification processes under way at the end of 2016. Sponda's Energy efficiency programme was again a leader on a Nordic scale as Sponda maintained its excellent A-score in the annual CDP Climate assessment. The result falls into the "Leadership" class and was, within the "Financials" class, the best in Finland and among the best in the Nordic countries. The reuse and recycling rates of the waste generated in Sponda's properties increased from the previous year. The carbon footprint of Sponda's head office decreased by over 50 per cent when compared to 2015. The head office transferred to electricity generated with Nordic wind power that covered almost 100 per cent of the total electricity used at Sponda's head office in 2016. The head office located on Korkeavuorenkatu has also been awarded the Green Office diploma granted by WWF Finland.
The overall like-for-like energy consumption of Sponda's Finnish properties has reduced by 11 per cent, electricity consumption by 11 per cent and heat consumption by 9 per cent between 2010 and 2016. "The excellent results describe the long-term and goal-oriented work with environmental responsibility. Taking the aspects of sustainability into account can be seen as concrete actions in both our everyday work at the head office and in co-operation with our partners and customers," says Hannamari Koivula, Sustainability Manager at Sponda. Sponda among the first to enter the property sector's energy efficiency agreement In October 2016, Sponda was among the first companies to join the voluntary energy efficiency agreement of the property sector in the commercial properties action plan for the years 2017-2025. This is part of Sponda's long-term work for improving energy efficiency. For the new contract period, Sponda's objective is to achieve a 7.5 per cent saving through energy efficiency measures by 2025 when compared to the energy consumption level of 2015. Sponda has been involved in the voluntary energy efficiency agreement also in the previous contract period in 2011-2016. Sponda reached the contracts period's energy saving target of 6 per cent compared to the building stock's energy consumption in 2010. Sponda accomplished over 600 energy saving actions and investments for approximately 14,000 MWh during the contract period. Energy efficiency agreements provide a framework for voluntary energy saving measures to help Finland achieve the international energy saving targets set for it. Sponda has invested in improving its energy efficiency for many years, and the company's own energy efficiency target is to achieve savings of 20 per cent by 2020. By the end of 2016, more than 14 per cent of the target had already been achieved. Sponda will continue its work for sustainable development in 2017. "The most central targets are related to improving the energy efficiency of properties, decreasing our carbon footprint and continue the environmental certifications of properties. We will also concentrate on environmental responsibility co-operation with our customers, developing our sustainability reporting further, decreasing water consumption and increasing the recycling rate of our waste," continues Hannamari Koivula. Sponda Plc Further information: Hannamari Koivula, Sustainability Manager, tel. +358 40 581 9921
Sponda Plc is a property investment company specializing in commercial properties in the largest cities in Finland. Sponda's business concept is to own, lease and develop retail and office properties and shopping centres into environments that promote the business success of its clients. The fair value of Sponda's investment properties is approximately EUR 3.8 billion and the leasable area is around 1.2 million m².
