Vonovia publishes Sustainability Report 2022: Carbon neutrality by 2045 remains important goal

Vonovia publishes Sustainability Report 2022: Carbon neutrality by 2045 remains important goal

• Climate protection measures geared to the 1.5° target.
• Photovoltaic expansion and heat pump programme.
• More than 10,000 flats remodelled age-appropriately.
• Customer satisfaction and apprenticeship training rate on a record high.

Bochum, 27 April 2023. Vonovia SE (“Vonovia”) presented its sustainability report for the year 2022 today. The Bochum-based housing company assumes ecological and social responsibility and sticks to its ambitious climate goals – despite a challenging environment. Following its binding climate path envisaging an almost climate-neutral housing stock by 2045, Vonovia relies on the increasing expansion of renewable energies, use of innovative building and renovation concepts as well as more recyclability in construction materials.

“The real-estate industry is currently facing big challenges. However, we must not lose sight of sustainability and climate protection being the most important topics of our time. We want to approach them and work on solutions. This is non-negotiable for us”, Rolf Buch, CEO of Vonovia SE, explains.

Suspension of building work does not mean delay of carbon neutrality

As announced, all building projects started in the year 2023 are going to be completed but no new building projects are going to be initiated because of increased prices and interest rates. Vonovia is going to make new projects ready so that the new build can start as soon as the conditions have improved.

Already in the past years, the company has extensively modernised its housing stock, and is going to continue to do that: Conventional heating will continue to be replaced by hybrid systems and heat pumps; own local heating grids powered by renewable energy will be installed, and energy supply will be converted to green electricity. With these measures, the company follows its climate path, which fulfils the climate protection agreement and 1.5° target of Paris.

More climate protection – also thanks to successful integration

After the successful amalgamation with Deutsche Wohnen, measures for climate protection can be implemented on a larger scale. Until 2030, 17,000 roofs will be upgraded with photovoltaic systems that have a capacity of about 280 Megawattpeak, and by which the emission of about 130,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year is avoided. By 2045, almost all 30,000 suitable roofs of the housing stock should have photovoltaic systems. In addition, a special programme has been launched by which 6,000 heat pumps should be installed within five years. CO₂ intensity of the housing portfolio in Germany has already dropped to 33kg CO2e/m²a today in comparison with about 56kg CO₂e/m²a in the year 2014.

Digitisation and innovative concepts

Vonovia uses its own decarbonisation tool in its housing stock that provides the basis for the optimum modernisation of buildings. New and existing flats are provided with a new, smart Building Operation System (BOS). Moreover, Vonovia relies on innovative renovation concepts like the Energiesprong principle. For that, façade elements made of sustainable construction materials are prefabricated in series accurate to the millimetre and are simply fitted together at the building site. Along with that, using renewable energies reduces the CO₂ emissions of such buildings to zero over the year of operation.

Conference on the future of building – everybody at one table

Vonovia relies on increased transparency in the lifecycle of buildings and components. All construction materials should be recycled significantly more, and checked for recyclability by introducing a material passport and a code number. In addition, Vonovia increasingly relies on serial and modular construction as well as the wide use of renewable construction materials. The company set these goals in the course of the cross-industry dialogue process “Perspectives on the future of building” that Vonovia organised in the year 2022.

 

Tenant satisfaction on record high

The Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) has continued to develop positively for Vonovia in the year 2022: The satisfaction of tenants rose by 1.3 per cent to the highest level since it has been surveyed by an independent institute. This increase is a positive signal – Vonovia has proved to be a reliable partner of its tenants in difficult times.

Vonovia continues to rely on affordable rents: So, the housing company signed the agreement of the Alliance for New Housing Construction and Affordable Housing in Berlin in June 2022. This alliance is the basis for the years ahead to find a joint and constructive way out of the tense situation at the housing market in the federal capital. This is mainly about building reliably and affordably, renovating, and letting – and especially about offering low-income tenants additional solutions. 

About 41,000 flats of Vonovia are price-controlled throughout Germany; the average apportionment of modernisation costs was 1.20 euros per square metre, significantly below the framework possible by law.

Social commitment in times of crisis

Already in February 2022, Vonovia did its utmost to offer as many Ukrainian families having fled from the country as possible a new home uncomplicatedly and unbureaucratically. One in ten flats becoming available has been let to Ukrainian citizens in the course of the year.

Despite adverse conditions by increased costs and a difficult investment climate, Vonovia continues to be committed to a lively neighbourhood in the residential quarters – they are upgraded by a range of social measures and cooperations with organisations and local authority districts. Vonovia provides all the people of this society with housing and does not exclude anyone. Almost one in three flats relet has been adapted to the demands of an ageing society.

At the same time, Vonovia continues to lend its support to homeless people and supports a range of initiatives throughout Germany, among them also projects following the “Housing First” approach. This renowned programme following a Scandinavian example pursues the ultimate objective to provide homeless people with flats first, and then specifically solving the other problems of everyday life.

The established hardship management as well as the special promise of protection for people over 70 years have also been extended to the housing stock of Deutsche Wohnen.

Apprenticeship and shortage of skilled workers

With the new year of training in August, Vonovia is offering 617 talents a professional perspective – as many trainees as never before. The higher-than-average training rate of 5.2 per cent in comparison with other DAX companies and the wide range of qualified jobs emphasise the important role that the promotion of young people has in the Bochum-based company.

In 2022, 2,100 new people were employed. To respond to the shortage of skilled workers, Vonovia, among other things, relies on qualified labour from abroad. In the context of the TEAM project of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), skilled workers from Colombia could already be recruited.

Target exceeded: Sustainability Performance Index is at 103 per cent

Vonovia not only measures success by its key financial figures but also by the implementation of measures concerning sustainability. The Sustainability Performance Index (SPI) is deduced from the essential sustainability topics; it is a crucial instrument for the management of our sustainable actions. In 2022, the SPI – reported excluding Deutsche Wohnen for 2022 – reached 103 per cent. “So, we exceeded our targets again; and that in a year that presented us with many challenges”, Catrin Coners, Head of Sustainability/Strategy at Vonovia, says. The SPI of Vonovia consists of six sub-indicators: the CO₂ intensity in the building stock; the energy efficiency of new buildings; the share of accessible (partial) modernisation measures in relation to newly let flats; the increase in customer and employee satisfaction as well as the proportion of female managers in the company’s top management team.

The sustainability report by Vonovia will only be published online; this is a contribution to the sustainable use of resources. It is available online via:

DE: https://report.vonovia.de/2022/nachhaltigkeitsbericht/de/

The English version is retrievable via the following link:

EN: https://report.vonovia.de/2022/sustainability-report

About Vonovia

Vonovia SE is Europe’s leading private residential real estate company. Vonovia currently owns more than 549,000 residential units in all attractive cities and regions in Germany, Sweden and Austria. It also manages around 72,800 apartments. Its portfolio is worth approximately € 95 billion. As a modern service provider, Vonovia focuses on customer orientation and tenant satisfaction. Offering tenants affordable, attractive and livable homes is a prerequisite for the company’s successful development. Therefore, Vonovia makes long-term investments in the maintenance, modernization and senior-friendly conversion of its properties. The company is also creating more and more new apartments by realizing infill developments and adding to existing buildings.

The company, which is based in Bochum, has been listed on the stock exchange since 2013. Since September 2015 Vonovia has been a constituent in the DAX 30 (today DAX 40) and since September 2020 in the EURO STOXX 50. Vonovia SE is also a constituent of additional national and international indices, including DAX 50 ESG, Dow Jones Sustainability Index Europe, STOXX Global ESG Leaders, EURO STOXX ESG Leaders 50, FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe, and GPR 250 World. Vonovia has a workforce of approximately 15,900 employees.

Additional Information:

Approval: Regulated Market/Prime Standard, Frankfurt Stock Exchange

ISIN: DE000A1ML7J1

WKN: A1ML7J

Common code: 094567408

Registered headquarters of Vonovia SE: Bochum, Germany, Bochum Local Court, HRB 16879

Business address of Vonovia SE: Universitaetsstrasse 133, 44803 Bochum, Germany

This press release has been issued by Vonovia SE and/or its subsidiaries solely for information purposes. This press release may contain statements, assumptions, opinions and predictions about the anticipated future development of Vonovia (“forward-looking statements”) that reproduce various assumptions regarding, e.g., results derived from Vonovia’s current business or from publicly available sources that have not been subject to an independent audit or in-depth evaluation by Vonovia and that may turn out to be incorrect at a later stage. All forward-looking statements express current expectations based on the current business plan and various other assumptions and therefore come with risks and uncertainties that are not insignificant. All forward-looking statements should not therefore be taken as a guarantee for future performance or results and, furthermore, do not necessarily constitute exact indicators that the forecast results will be achieved. All forward-looking statements relate solely to the day on which this press release was issued to its recipients. It is the responsibility of the recipients of this press release to conduct a more detailed analysis of the validity of forward-looking statements and the underlying assumptions. Vonovia accepts no responsibility for any direct or indirect damages or losses or subsequent damages or losses, as well as penalties that the recipients may incur by using the press release, its contents and, in particular, all forward-looking statements or in any other way, as far as this is legally permissible. Vonovia does not provide any guarantees or assurances (either explicitly or implicitly) in respect of the information contained in this press release. Vonovia is not obliged to update or correct the information, forward-looking statements or conclusions drawn in this press release or to include subsequent events or circumstances or to report inaccuracies that become known after the date of this press release.