Insights
For the first time, Sunday Power and Placepoint have analyzed who actually owns the greenest buildings in Norway. The result shows a clear winner – and an industry in rapid development.
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Sunday Power and Placepoint have now named Norway's greenest property portfolios. The analysis shows which players have the largest proportion of commercial buildings with energy ratings A and B, and who are thus driving the development in energy efficiency and sustainability.
NorgesGruppen tops the list with 71.8 percent of its portfolio holding an A or B energy rating. They are followed by Aspelin Eiendom, Biltema, Bulk Infrastructure, and Ingka Holding (IKEA).
"For several years, we have worked purposefully to reduce energy consumption in our buildings, and this result shows that the work is having an effect. ASKO has led the way with major investments in solar power and other renewable energy, and we are carrying that experience forward throughout the NorgesGruppen group. At the same time, this is about many small and large measures across the entire property portfolio – the sum of everything we do. We are proud to be at the forefront," says Kristin Melvik Alfstad, Technical Manager at NorgesGruppen Eiendom.
"We want to highlight those who are truly delivering – not just on ambitions, but who can document results. The review shows who is leading the green shift in Norwegian property and provides a clear picture of the industry's status. We hope it can motivate more players to follow suit," says Jonas Ibsen Brynildsrud, CEO of Sunday Power.
He emphasizes that there may be other players in the industry who have worked very well to increase the energy rating of their buildings, even if they do not end up on the top list in this specific ranking.
"Players who have taken major steps to raise buildings with lower energy ratings to, for example, C, will not be rewarded in this ranking. Therefore, no one can say that those not on the list are not investing green, because the starting point matters a great deal. However, the players on the top list have undoubtedly earned the right to be highlighted. We cheer on all building owners who make an effort to raise the energy rating of their buildings, regardless of size and starting point."
The analysis is based on the Placepoint data platform, which has retrieved and compiled information from the Norwegian Land Registry (Matrikkelen), Enova, the Brønnøysund Register Centre, and the Shareholders’ Register.
"We have compiled and quality-assured data across registers and cleaned up ownership structures so that the picture is accurate and comparable," says Peder Sunde, CEO of Placepoint.
The analysis includes property portfolios with over 200,000 square meters of commercial buildings. The method is based on the proportion of the total usable floor area (BRA) with an A or B energy rating.
"Our ambition with the analysis is to create an objective and transparent basis for comparing portfolios. Other methods can, of course, yield different results, and we acknowledge that there are other ways to conduct similar analyses," says Brynildsrud.
The energy rating is an official indicator of a building's energy efficiency. Energy ratings A and B are considered green investments by banks, investors, and insurance companies. This provides better financing terms, lower risk, and increases the value of the properties. This is confirmed by a recent analysis from Newsec.
"We clearly see that energy-efficient buildings score better on value, attractiveness, and operation. This is good for the owner, the tenant, and finance," says Jon Harry Dahlberg Årstad, Managing Director, Advisory Norway at Newsec.
The ranking was done in connection with the launch of the country's first solar magazine.
The analysis aims to showcase the property portfolios that have the greatest impact on the green shift. Therefore, we have only included portfolios over 200,000 square meters. In this way, we also avoid single buildings in a smaller portfolio causing large fluctuations in the result.
The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) requires all commercial buildings over 1000 square meters to have an energy certificate. Since we have chosen to use the energy certificate as a marker for whether the building is green or not, we use the same limit in the analysis. Therefore, we only include buildings with a usable floor area (BRA) over 1000 square meters.
Owners of commercial buildings are defined as the ultimate owner with a 100 per cent ownership share.
