Veritas is a responsible real estate investor. Our goal is to render all the properties we own fully carbon neutral by 2030.
It has been Veritas’ goal for all the energy consumed by properties (heat and electricity) to be completely emission-free by 2025. This target was reached ahead of schedule in 2022, when also the last properties switched to utilising renewable thermal energy.
Energy consumption monitoring has been conducted in Veritas’ properties already since 2001. Energy consumption is directly connected to the carbon footprint of properties and, as a result, upon the environmental impacts. Veritas has managed to substantially curb the carbon dioxide emissions emitted by Veritas’ real estate in the past few years. The energy project at the Maamiesten kauppatalo property, completed in 2021, proved successful, at least as concerns the review for the first few months. The percentage of procured energy from the heating of the property has reduced by approximately 50 per cent. Granted, the electricity consumption has increased somewhat due to the installed technology.
In 2022, the carbon dioxide emissions from Veritas’ real estate amounted to 522 tCO2. During the year, emissions were reduced by 6 per cent.
Key indicators in properties
| wdt_ID | New column | New column | New column |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| 17 | Carbon dioxide emissions (tCO₂)* | ||
| 18 | All properties | 522 tCO₂e | 556 tCO₂e |
| 20 | Total real estate mass, ratio | 0.85 kgCO₂/m³ | 0.14 kgCO₂/m³ |
| 21 | Water consumption (m³) | ||
| 23 | All properties | 55 686 m³ | 53 984 m³ |
| 24 | Energy consumption | ||
| 25 | Electricity consumption | 11 984 mWh | 11 780 mWh |
| 26 | Heating | 16 108 mWh | 16 550 mWh |
| 27 | Share of renewables |
100% | |
| 28 | Non-renewable share |
0% | |
| 29 | Share of own production |
1459 mWh | 813 mWh |
| 30 | Cooling | 121 mWh | 276 mWh |
| 31 | Waste** | ||
| 32 | Recycling rate | 56% | 51% |
| 33 | Utilization rate | 100% | 100% |
* The emission calculations were conducted by a third-party service provider. The emission calculations include 33 properties, which are directly owned by Veritas. The calculations do not include partly-owned properties or properties rented by Veritas. For directly owned properties, the calculations encompass Scope 1 (produced energy and refrigerants), Scope 2 (bough energy) and selected Scope 3 emissions (waste, sold energy and emissions from water).
** The data covers part of the properties owned by Veritas. The comprehensiveness of the data depends on the availability of data, which varies between service providers.
The design guidelines for construction projects are updated annually, to allow us to achieve the targets we have set for 2030 in the sphere of environmental responsibility, energy-efficiency and carbon-neutrality.
Involved in the energy savings campaign
From the geopolitical perspective, the year 2022 was an entirely exceptional year. Due to rising prices, numerous energy projects had to be suspended, at least for the time being. The most significant of the contemplated projects was the energy project of three office buildings, the implementation of which became impossible. We will revert to the implementation once the price development and the resources of the geothermal drilling equipment return to a reasonable level. The prices in the bids received for the drilling had almost doubled due to the prevailing circumstances.
Veritas is aiming to conduct an annual energy survey of four properties and to apply for a BREEAM environmental certificate for same. BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification is a leading European environmental classification system for both new construction projects and renovated existing buildings. This target was not reached for 2022, because the BREEAM certifications contemplated for the year will only be completed in early 2023.
During the year, we completed the first responsibility guidelines to serve as guidance for the design of new construction. The guidelines will be updated as more information is obtained, for instance, as concerns the taxonomy requirements.
From the responsibility aspect, the prevailing circumstances have also entailed some positive developments. Veritas participated in the energy saving campaign and was involved in the One Degree Lower campaign for the properties in which this was possible.
Some of the measures undertaken included adjusting the operating times of the ventilation machines in properties and focusing, to the extent possible, specifically on evening out the electricity consumption peaks. This also had a positive impact on the consumption of the electricity purchased by Veritas: the consumption decreased during the latter part of 2022.