The focus of European policies aimed at a competitive low-carbon economy is buildings. Minimizing the energy footprint of existing buildings and achieving close to zero energy buildings represent the core of the Energy Efficiency Directive. In accordance to the EU’s commitment energy efficiency first policies, Member States are looking to adopt actions to make energy savings from the building sector.
Encouraging investment in sustainable energy projects is one of the strategic priorities of European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). But how stakeholders in the building sector can collaborate to transform the European building stock into a highly efficient environment?
Castellum provides a great example on how a private real estate developer can use EU funds and European Investment Bank (EIB) credit for constructing office buildings with maximum energy efficiency. Recently, the EIB has signed a EUR 75 million loan with real estate company Castellum, for the construction of two “Nearly zero-energy buildings” in Sweden. The loan was made possible by the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), central pillar of the European Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe.
“We’re particularly proud to support Castellum in this initiative, also since climate action is high on the agenda for the European Investment Bank.” said Romualdo Massa Bernucci, Director for EIB lending in the Nordic countries. “Both residential and office buildings are responsible for a large part of the CO2 output, so making them more energy efficient is an important step in mitigating our footprint in large cities.”
Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner for Trade, said: “Improved energy efficiency in buildings is an important part of our transition towards a greener society but it often requires significant investments. This is where the Investment Plan can play an important role. With today’s agreement, the European Fund for Strategic Investments will contribute to Sweden’s development towards a reduced dependency on fossil fuels.”
Castellum will use the loan to construct two new Nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEB) office buildings, specifically the “Torsplan” building in the Hagastaden part of Stockholm and the “Citypassage” in central Örebro.
“We at Castellum are convinced that sustainability efforts provide the Group with a competitive advantage. It is economically viable, both short and long term, to work with sustainability. Well integrated sustainability efforts contribute to a more efficient management and improved control of our properties. We are pleased to see that the EIB finds our projects attractive and is willing to support our ambitions”, says Castellum’s CEO Henrik Saxborn.
Castellum’s initiative in constructing NZEB fits perfectly with the Bank’s strategy, given the fact that climate action is a main priority for the EIB, and comes after a number of similar projects that the EIB supported recently in Sweden, Finland and Germany.
Source: https://goo.gl/tDncpL