Climate Change Data

VONOVIA SE

Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2017, 2022)

Reporting Period: 2017

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:498,857 t CO2e (location based), 498,857 t CO2e (market based)
Scope 1 Emissions:14,453 t CO2e
Scope 2 Emissions:1,955 t CO2e (location based), 1,955 t CO2e (market based)
Scope 3 Emissions:482,449 t CO2e
Renewable Energy Share:44.8% (electricity consumed in business operations)
Total Energy Consumption:7,768 MWh (business operations)
Water Consumption:15,698 m³ (business operations)
Waste Generated:74 tons (business operations)
Carbon Intensity:0.08 t CO2/m² (business operations)

ESG Focus Areas

  • Sustainable Corporate Governance
  • Society and Customers
  • Environment
  • Employees

Environmental Achievements

  • Reduced CO2 emissions by approximately 22,400 metric tons through energy-efficient building upgrades.
  • Reduced energy consumption by more than 69,000 MWh through energy-efficient building upgrades.
  • Installed 47 new PV plants with a total output of 2,096 kWp, increasing annual electricity generation by around 2,000 MWh and reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 2,900 metric tons.

Social Achievements

  • Improved customer satisfaction index (CSI) by around 2 percentage points compared to 2016, representing a 33% increase since 2012.
  • Invested approximately €200 million in measures to improve the standard of living in 11,000 apartments.
  • Expanded employee count by 13.6% to 8,448 employees.

Governance Achievements

  • Developed a competence profile system for the Supervisory Board.
  • Developed a new concept for supplier management.
  • No confirmed incidents of corruption.

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Achieve virtually climate-neutral building stock by 2050.
Medium-term Goals:
  • Achieve virtually climate-neutral building stock by 2050.
Short-term Goals:
  • Increase modernization ratio to over 3% annually.

Environmental Challenges

  • Rising construction costs making affordable housing more difficult.
  • Long approval times for new construction.
  • Over-regulation in tenancy law potentially lowering incentives for new housing and renovations.
  • Risks from contaminated sites.
  • Potential violations of building laws or labor laws by subcontractors.
  • Damage from climate change.
  • Increasing legal requirements for energy saving and CO2 pricing.
  • Finding and retaining qualified technicians.
Mitigation Strategies
  • Efficient portfolio management to keep rents affordable.
  • Modular construction approach to speed up construction and reduce costs.
  • Dialogue with policymakers to address regulatory challenges.
  • Systematic inspections of properties near mine workings.
  • Active certification of subcontractors and market monitoring.
  • Comprehensive building insurance cover.
  • Expansion of technical service to offer more services internally.
  • Targeted health-promoting measures to retain employees.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement
  • Business Partner Code
  • General Terms and Conditions of Purchasing
  • Focus on suppliers within the European Union
  • Use of FSC-certified timber

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Extreme weather damage
Transition Risks
  • Increased legal requirements for energy saving and CO2 pricing
  • Rising construction costs
Opportunities
  • Energy-efficient building upgrades and new construction lowering energy consumption and ancillary costs.

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI Standards (Core option), EPRA Best Practice Recommendations on Sustainability Reporting (sBPR), Code of Conduct of the ZIA Zentraler Immobilien Ausschuss e. V.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • Modular construction system
  • Smart metering solutions

Awards & Recognition

  • Top sports-friendly company of 2017 (German Olympic Sports Association)
  • One of Germany’s best training companies (Capital magazine)

Reporting Period: 2022

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:1,161,014 t CO2e/year
Scope 1 Emissions:547,110 t CO2e/year
Scope 2 Emissions:362,328 t CO2e/year
Scope 3 Emissions:376,929 t CO2e/year
Renewable Energy Share:10.7% of total energy use
Total Energy Consumption:5,516,630 MWh/year
Water Consumption:42.2 million m3/year
Waste Generated:519,497 tons/year
Carbon Intensity:33.0 kg CO2e/m² (Germany)

ESG Focus Areas

  • Environment and Climate
  • Society and Contribution to Urban Development
  • Homes and Customers
  • Corporate Culture and Employees
  • Sustainable Governance and Responsible Business Practices

Environmental Achievements

  • Reduced carbon intensity in Germany from 38.4 to 33.0 kg CO2e/m2
  • Increased installed capacity of photovoltaic systems to 19.3 MWp (with 533 systems)
  • Average primary energy demand of new buildings reduced to 37.7 kWh/m²
  • More than 98% of new buildings completed in Germany are in energy efficiency class A or A+

Social Achievements

  • 1.3% increase in customer satisfaction (in Germany)
  • Around 2,100 new hires
  • Above-average training ratio at 5.2% (in Germany)
  • 391 positive decisions on 546 hardship case objections
  • Over-70s arrangement to ensure affordable housing for tenants over 70 years of age continued and extended to Deutsche Wohnen

Governance Achievements

  • ESG rating performance improved (MSCI upgrade to AAA)
  • New Sustainable Finance Framework (EU taxonomy-compliant) implemented
  • Social & Green Bonds of € 4 billion and SEK 1.25 billion issued

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Achieve a virtually climate-neutral housing stock by 2045 (<5 kg CO2e/m2 rental area)
Medium-term Goals:
  • Install photovoltaic systems with a total output of >280 MWp by 2030
Short-term Goals:
  • Reduce carbon intensity to <25 kg CO2e/m² (in Germany) by 2030
  • Reduce average primary energy demand for new buildings to 27 kWh/m² by 2025
  • Proportion of women in management positions at 30% by 2026

Environmental Challenges

  • Rising cost of construction and materials
  • Changes in interest rates
  • Changes in building efficiency standards and public authority subsidy conditions
  • Breakdown of the CO2 price on fossil fuels between tenants and landlords
  • Legal measures to restructure the electricity and heating sectors
  • Deterioration in the investment climate
  • Changes to subsidy eligibility conditions
  • Labor shortages
Mitigation Strategies
  • Focusing on the implementation of modernization work already begun and in the planning stages
  • Using public-sector subsidy programs for modernization measures
  • Developing the decarbonization tool (DKT)
  • Implementing a new end-to-end process for efficient cooperation between departments involved in neighborhood development
  • Launching a heat pump initiative
  • Investing in in-house installation capacities for photovoltaic systems
  • Offering customers the opportunity to purchase electricity from renewable energy sources
  • Examining decarbonization strategies of district heating providers
  • Strategic cooperation with GROPYUS AG for modular wood construction
  • Developing an IT tool to analyze physical climate risks
  • Establishing a human rights officer and revising the statement of principles on respect for human rights
  • Expanding the catalog of regular and mandatory training courses on compliance topics
  • Implementing a “Growing together” initiative to integrate Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen workforces

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Regular reviews of suppliers' adherence to social and environmental standards and human rights; use of Vonovia partner portal.

Responsible Procurement
  • Business Partner Code
  • General terms and conditions of purchasing
  • Vonovia SE’s general terms and conditions for building services and planning services
  • Product manual with environmental criteria

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Heat
  • Cold
  • Drought
  • Increased precipitation
  • Wind and storms
  • Snow loads
  • Flooding
Transition Risks
  • Unfavorable carbon tax
  • Risk of non-compliance with the climate path
  • Lack of cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency modernization and the development of renewable energy generation
Opportunities
  • Decentralized internal energy generation
  • Development of climate-resilient neighborhoods

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, TCFD, EPRA sBPR, SASB

Certifications: ISO 27001 (99% of IT systems), ISO 50001 (BUWOG Austria)

Third-party Assurance: KPMG (limited assurance)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • 7
  • 11
  • 13

Vonovia's initiatives contribute to these goals through climate protection measures, neighborhood development projects, and sustainable construction practices.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • Modular wood construction
  • Heat pump systems
  • Photovoltaic systems

Awards & Recognition

  • DENEFF RealGreen Award
  • MSCI ESG rating AAA
  • Prime status from ISS-ESG
  • Kund-kristallen award (Victoriahem)