Green neighborhoods: neighborhood consulting for energy efficiency and more climate protection

Sustainable neighborhood development - a rocky road to climate-friendly pathways?

Decarbonization around real estate is a major challenge - and also an important driver for the energy transition. The building sector accounts for more than a third of German energy consumption. In addition, it accounts for 30 percent of CO₂ emissions in Germany. It is therefore clear that neighborhoods must move away from fossil electricity and fossil heat. But there are still many problems. In existing buildings in particular, there is a lack of clever approaches and practical conversion concepts. But intelligent solutions for energy supply are also needed in new buildings.

"Germany is a remediation country and has been treading water in this respect for years. And this is despite the fact that the European Union's and Germany's climate targets - which are, mind you, ambitious - are clearly on the table and must be achieved."

 

Dipl.-Ing Matthias Sommer, Head of the Real Estate Sales Department at ENGIE Deutschland

The challenges of sustainable neighborhood development

Making neighborhoods climate-friendly and energy-efficient requires a lot of know-how. This is expertise that project developers, urban planners and property developers often do not have themselves. What's more, knowledge alone is not enough. Practical experience is essential if office, residential or commercial space is to be retrofitted sustainably and redesigned in an environmentally friendly way. Neighborhoods require their own technical concepts. Every neighborhood is different and has its own structural characteristics. These include architectural conditions, individual utilization concepts and, last but not least, economic framework conditions.

Manfred Schmitz, CEO of ENGIE Germany, knows that thoughtful planning is necessary for change. Sustainable neighborhood management can only succeed with a holistic approach. According to Schmitz, this approach must take into account the entire life cycle of the building and combine the highest standards of economic efficiency, technology and climate protection.

There are two pieces of good news: First, numerous technologies for sustainable neighborhood management are already available today. On the other hand, energy experts like ENGIE provide intelligent strategies that combine the aspects of economic efficiency, technology and climate protection. The approach: a holistic view of the neighborhood and the development of a customized energy supply solution. We support project and construction managers in this regard with a comprehensive service model - neighborhood consulting.

Neighborhood consulting: How we support real estate companies with their climate goals

We have been dealing with sustainable neighborhood development throughout Germany for years and know: For successful, sustainable neighborhood development, it is necessary to approach the energy concept, the infrastructure planning, the operational concept, the mobility concept, and the supply and disposal concept of the neighborhood together. As a sparring partner for numerous urban planners and developers, we successfully accompany the energy turnaround in neighborhoods. Together with the responsible parties, we plan energetically clever and economical neighborhood solutions for existing buildings as well as new construction projects.

"We view neighborhoods independently as small cities and thus as a 'laboratory' for the city of the future. In doing so, we have a mission: our tomorrow is green!"

 

Manfred Schmitz, CEO ENGIE Deutschland

From sustainable idea to implementation: how neighborhood consulting works

Our services for real estate planners and operators are multifaceted. Basically, we work in four phases that build on each other:

How sustainable neighborhood development succeeds with ENGIE

Project developers, urban planners and property developers are not on their own when it comes to the energy transition. And before budgets are spent on concepts that are not technically mature, strategic energy consulting should be consulted. With our district consulting, we provide a strong service that makes demand-oriented, sustainable district development possible. You can find out more about meaningful reference projects here: our references in the real estate sector.