Altera awarded BREEAM-NL In-Use certificate for entire retail portfolio

• First-ever retail portfolio certification of its size in the Netherlands
• Dutch Green Building Council issues ‘sustainability package’ containing 94 certificates for 671 stores covering a total floor area of over 200,000 sq. m.

Amstelveen, 6 June 2019 – At the PROVADA property trade show earlier today, real estate investor Altera was presented with a sustainability package containing 96 separate BREEAM -NL In-Use certificates covering its entire retail portfolio. The retail portfolio includes 671 separate retail units with a total floor area of more than 200,000 sq. m.

Erwin Wessels, CIO/COO at Altera, was presented with the certificate by Annemarie van Doorn, director of the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC), the nationwide organization for improving the sustainability of the built environment. BREEAM-NL In-Use is the most frequently used property sustainability standard in Europe. Altera has become the first in the Netherlands to have so many stores certified at the same time. Real estate adviser Colliers Nederland has assisted in the certification process over recent months.

Erwin Wessels, portfolio management director at Altera: “Of course, we are hugely proud to be the first in the Netherlands to take on a sustainability challenge of this size. In our total investment strategy, whether it involves residential, commercial or industrial real estate, sustainability is a key priority. Our portfolios now meet the highest possible sustainability standards. But we aim to keep improving: by certifying our entire retail portfolio, we are demonstrating that, for us, strategy goes beyond ideas alone and is actually translated into action. The BREEAM-NL In-Use certification is a measurable way of providing transparency on our progress in making our property sustainable and identifying where there is still room for improvement. This matters to the retailers who are our tenants, the shareholders for whom we invest and more especially to the society for which we bear a great responsibility when it comes to providing healthy and livable environments.”

Annemarie van Doorn, director of DGBC: “It’s fantastic that Altera has made this move and shown the market that upscaling is achievable and realistic. As a property investor, Altera has demonstrated that taking the lead is all about making choices and taking action. This is in everyone’s interests and especially Altera’s itself. It provides highly valuable insights into the sustainability performance of buildings and what will be needed to achieve further progress in the future.”

Altera’s entire property portfolio – residential, retail and industry – now meets all of the current sustainability requirements. Further evidence of this can be seen in Altera’s score in the GRESB sustainability benchmark, in which the investor has Green Star status in all sectors, representing the measurability and concrete implementation of sustainability in the property portfolio.