Wihlborgs invests in climate neutral property management in 2019 – but more climate initiatives are needed
In our environmental goals for 2019, Wihlborgs declared that we will continue to reduce our climate impact and that when the environmental accounts for the full year are summarised, Swedish property management will be climate neutral. At the same time, continued initiatives to reduce climate impact are planned across all operations.
“We took active sustainability initiatives early on, and for a number of years we’ve focused on areas like climate, energy and certified buildings, which has yielded good results. Our property portfolio has grown considerably, but our climate impact, particularly when it comes to energy, has nonetheless shrunk,” says Ulrika Hallengren, CEO of Wihlborgs.
“Now the natural step for us is to review several areas and climate compensate for the effect we have in property management, beginning with operations in Sweden. Through climate compensation, we can change our approach. We’re not asking ourselves what it will cost to do the right thing, but what it will cost if we don’t.
“But we’re not done. There’s much more to do here, both for us as a company and for the industry at large. Currently in our industry, the largest climate impact comes from building materials in new builds and redevelopments, and here we need to leverage our role as a purchaser to contribute positively. We also need to reduce our climate impact in Danish operations. There are challenges here, however, because the offering of renewable energy isn’t as extensive.”
As a group, Wihlborgs wants to climate compensate primarily through investments in its own operations or in regional initiatives, for example in producing even more renewable energy via solar panels.
“We’ll engage the help of experts to ensure that our climate compensation measures yield the desired result and that the accounting is adequate. We’re also planning to deepen our collaboration with our energy suppliers, among others, to find areas where we can make joint contributions or intensify the work that we’ve already started,” concludes Ulrika Hallengren.
Wihlborgs has also signed the recently-launched initiative “Local roadmap for a climate neutral construction sector in Malmö 2030,” LFM30.se. Wihlborgs previously signed a mayoral agreement within the framework of the “Climate Alliance” network in Lund, and we stand behind Fossil-free Sweden’s joint declaration.
FACTS
Based on the energy used in properties, Wihlborgs emissions for 2018 amounted to an average of 2.7 kg CO2 per square metre across the entire group. For the Swedish operations, the number is 0.08 kg and for the Danish operations it’s 7.6 kg CO2 per square metre. Read more about our environmental work at https://www.wihlborgs.se/en/about-us/sustainability/sustainable-properties/
Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB (publ)
For further information, please contact:
Ulrika Hallengren, CEO, Tel: +46 (0)40 690 57 95
Staffan Fredlund, Environmental Manager, +46 (0)40 690 57 76
Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB (publ) is a property company that focuses on commercial properties in the Öresund region. Its property portfolio is located in Malmö, Helsingborg, Lund and Copenhagen.
In Malmö, Lund and Helsingborg, Wihlborgs is the leading property company.
The book value of the company’s properties totals SEK 43.8 billion, representing an annual property rental value of SEK 3.1 billion.
Wihlborgs’ shares are listed on the Large Cap List of Nasdaq Stockholm.
