From "why" to "how": ENGIE Deutschland shows ways to a climate-neutral building

Cologne/Berlin, 29 April 2021 – Buildings must contribute to climate protection; they are supposed to be climate-neutral throughout the EU in just under 30 years. What's in store for the building sector with Green Deal, Renovation Wave and Taxonomy? How does the real estate industry react to the transformation, and what does the path to a climate-neutral building look like in practice? Answers to these questions were provided by the panel "The climate-neutral property - from 'why' to 'how'", which ENGIE Deutschland hosted as part of the digital Berlin Energy Days on April 23, 2021. In his opening remarks, Dr. Frank Höpner, Head of Strategy at ENGIE Deutschland, said: "It is clear that we need measures for climate protection in buildings. We are faced with the question of how these can be implemented pragmatically. Here we are currently seeing an imbalance between those who are supposed to modernize – that is, the owners – and those who are able to implement it. Impetus is needed to give energy service providers, as professionals in the energy transition, a chance to implement climate neutrality." The fact that the topic struck a chord was demonstrated by the lively interest shown by more than 330 participants, including architects, real estate operators, and employees from universities and administrative authorities.

Forward-looking presentations at the expert panel

Christian Noll, Managing Director of the German Corporate Initiative Energy Efficiency e. V. (DENEFF), hosted the event. His colleague Susann Bollmann from the DENEFF management board recapitulated in her lecture "Green Deal - Renovation Wave - Taxonomy: Where is the journey in the building sector heading?", the policy framework, pointing out that the risk of asset depreciation already known from other sectors, if future climate protection requirements are not met, could also affect the building sector. The ball was picked up by Susanne Eickermann-Riepe, CEO of RICS Deutschland, in her lecture "How do sustainability and return go together?". She sees a change in the DNA of the real estate industry: It is to be assumed that investors will increasingly rely on the triad of environment, social and responsible corporate governance (environment, social and governance, "ESG") for products and project development. "The return on investment alone will no longer suffice The real estate value is expanded by an environmental value and a social value to a new total value," says Eickermann-Riepe. Dr. Markus Bell, Managing Director of Bell Management Consultants, explained how sustainability of real estate can be made measurable in his presentation "ESG Score - Implementation and Communication Tool on the Path to CO₂ Neutrality". The ECORE initiative, which includes around 40 European stockholders and the associations ZIA and BVI, has developed a robust industry standard for measuring the sustainability performance of properties and portfolios. Stakeholders can use a point scale from zero to 100 to identify the extent to which a property or portfolio reflects the climate goals and ESG criteria. Under the motto "Decide today for tomorrow", Simon Greif, research assistant at the Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft e.V. in Munich, classified the technological and economic approaches for the heating transition on the basis of the decarbonization study of his institute. At the current CO₂ prices, the replacement of thermostatic valves alone is economically a no-brainer. "From the geothermal heat pump to the gas boiler with renewable fuel to the insulation of the building envelope: All other measures require regulatory intervention to become financially attractive," Greif summarized. The use of biomass is especially recommended for the protection of monuments. Hydrogen will hardly play a role in the area of space heating and DHW in the foreseeable future.

Practical example: ENGIE Deutschland reduces CO₂

Stefan Schwan, Head of the Energy &Facility Solutions Division at ENGIE Deutschland, explained how the path to climate neutrality can look in concrete terms using the example of a commercial property: Based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the ENGIE team calculated the direct emissions of the building and the emissions from electricity and heat sourced from external suppliers. In five steps, the experts developed measures for CO₂ reduction: starting with energy efficiency, green heating and cooling as well as green electricity up to logistics and mobility. Around half of the costs and CO₂ savings have already been achieved by measures to increase energy efficiency and by contracting for green heating. "The example shows: We already have sufficient opportunities to reduce CO₂. What is important now is not just doing the right things, but doing things right. In this context, energy service providers are called upon as professionals for the implementation of climate protection measures," said Stefan Schwan. The guaranteed achievement of climate neutrality is at the core of the services of ENGIE Deutschland. With its expertise in building and plant technology on the one hand and decades of experience in energy management on the other, the company combines the two central foundations for the "real zero".

Political agreement: More energy efficiency is essential

In the subsequent discussion round, Dr. Julia Verlinden (BÜNDNIS 90/Die Grünen parliamentary group), Prof. Dr. Martin Neumann (FDP parliamentary group), Karsten Möring (CDU/CSU parliamentary group) and Timon Gremmels (SPD parliamentary group) presented which guidelines their parties want to set in the future. The participants continued to discuss minimum requirements for the building stock and measures to be implemented primarily in buildings. "The MEPs have made it clear across the board that there is no way around increasing energy efficiency. In addition to technologies, innovative business models for decarbonization deserve more attention. In addition to the broad commitment to funding, clear legal requirements seem to become relevant for the most energetically inefficient buildings," Christian Noll, Managing Director of DENEFF, summarized the discussion.

Further information on the Berlin Energy Days is available online at:
engie-deutschland.de/de/berliner-energietage-2021-04