Properties made greener in Finland

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One important element in Niam’s efforts to reduce our climate impact is to find ways of improving the energy performance of properties through investments during our ownership. Two successful recent examples of this concerns properties in Finland.

Kaarinantie 700 is an industrial property on the outskirts of Turku where the original building was constructed in the 1960’s and then expanded three different times during the 2000’s. Niam bought the property in the summer of 2022. As part of the business case the two major tenants, who together are leasing almost all of the property’s space, agreed to prolong their lease agreement by five years. This was done provided that Niam invested in a series of energy efficiency measures.

With the goal of meeting the needs of the tenants and reducing the climate impact from the property, Niam partnered with Enerz, an energy efficiency solution provider. In a turnkey project from Enerz Niam has during 2023 invested in optimizing building automation, adding sensors and renewing actuators, new ventilation equipment, new circulating water pumps and regulating valves, a hybrid air-water heat pump system, solar panels and low-energy LED lighting. All in all, the increased energy efficiency represents a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of nearly 3,700 tons CO2e equivalents during the life cycle.

“In an old building with old systems an overhaul like this can really make a big difference. The property has become much greener than before, and everybody wins. For us the prolonged lease adds value, and both tenants are very happy with their reduced energy costs – and a better indoor climate on top of that,” comments Markku Strömberg, Director, Portfolio Management at Niam Finland.

The Saari shopping centre in Helsinki is a property that Niam bought newly built in 2019. In such a new building there were not that many options for further energy efficiency investments, although considerable efforts had to be put into optimising different systems and getting the building automation right. However, Niam saw the potential for installing solar panels on the roof of the building.

Niam invested in a turnkey project from the local energy company Helen, installing 300 solar panels with a total power production capacity of 111 kWp, providing 15 percent of the property’s energy needs. The system was installed and up-and-running in November 2023 and the production is living up to what was planned. Displays will also be installed in the centre, to let all visitors see how much energy the solar panels are producing.

“Moreover, all the electricity that we buy comes from renewable sources, so this is truly a green shopping centre. Any cost savings that we realise from producing our own electricity are passed on to the tenants,” explains Markku Strömberg.