Great news! On Thursday 20 June, the property management team at WDP Netherlands was awarded a BREEAM certificate by the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC). Yet another milestone in our sustainability sprint, which began in 2022 with a successful pilot and has now resulted in the achievement of an ambitious target: sustainability certification for more than 75 percent of our existing property portfolio by 2025. 

WDP devotes considerable time and effort to making its real estate more demonstrably sustainable. BREEAM certification is routinely added to new-build developments. We also follow leading certification processes for the existing portfolio in close collaboration with the C2N consultancy firm. Together with them, we have achieved impressive results. But even well before the sustainability sprint was initiated, WDP had a number of BREEAM-certified buildings in the portfolio.

For illustrative purposes, the number of BREEAM-certified distribution centres grew from 39 to 55 in 2023. And the average score rose from 36.4 percent to 46 percent, an increase of no less than 127 percent. This level of sustainability maturity is unprecedented in logistics. 

There are a number of reasons for our sustainability efforts. First and foremost, we are fully aware of the importance of this issue, both the environmental aspects and the well-being of the people working in the buildings. It also fits in with our efforts to continuously improve our property portfolio. After all, our ​‘Warehouses with brains’ proposition requires a continuous focus on innovation. This encompasses all aspects, including sustainability. And we are more than happy to have our locations set a good example for the entire sector, also in the Netherlands. 

Good collaboration with C2N is essential for continuing to pursue the same ambitious path. Since we first joined forces, this partnership has only intensified. On 15 April 2010, WDP was the first real estate investor in the Netherlands to earn BREEAM certification for sustainable construction. And from that moment on, we have continuously raised the bar and our joint ambitions. A partnership to be proud of! 

The newest certification brings the number of our logistics assets in the Netherlands certified according to the BREEAM-NL In-Use scheme to 33. Consequently, our demonstrably sustainable assets now cover a gross floor surface of over 1,000,000 m². But it doesn’t stop there. The team is optimistic about achieving the target for 2025 to once again add a considerable number of sustainable square metres to the existing portfolio.

Certification is just one part of all our sustainable ambitions. If you want to know our full action plan, take a look at our Climate Action Plan