The Waltrovka office complex in Prague 5 – Jinonice is located on the site of the former Walter Engines engineering plant, which first produced motorcycles and later also cars and aircraft engines. The five modern office buildings right next to Radlicka radiala include over 80,000 sqm of leasable space. The individual buildings are equipped with smart technologies and boast internationally recognised LEED Gold and Platinum sustainability certificates. This in itself is a confirmation of environmentally friendly operation, however, practice shows that only through efficient maintenance and management on a daily basis can truly significant financial savings be achieved. Jiří Beránek, an experienced property manager and head of the CBRE team responsible for managing Walter’s, reveals how the site has managed to reduce overall energy consumption by 20% over the last three years, keep service charges low and suggest further changes in line with ESG principles.
Walter’s occupancy rate is around 92%. Its tenants include Adidas, Pavel Kolář’s Centre for Movement Medicine, JNJ Global Business Services, Oracle and Strabag. These are prestigious companies that are accustomed to high quality services at appropriate costs. This is also related to the forecast of future development and adequate strategy setting in the field of energy management.
“The period between 2021 and 2023 was very influenced by the covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The energy market was really tight and there were times when suppliers did not want to sign a single new contract. All office property owners and managers were looking for ways to save on energy costs,” comments Jiří Beránek from CBRE, adding: “At Waltrovka, we faced this head on. Based on our forecasts, we have implemented a tranche of electricity purchases for three full years ahead in 2021. And this strategy has clearly paid off. At a time when the market was going up and down by hundreds of percent, we guaranteed our tenants a price of CZK 2,246 per MWh. For gas, we implemented the tranches on an annual basis and the result was about 20% below the average market price. With energy accounting for up to 40% of the total budget, we were able to guarantee our tenants a low level of service charges, which among other things proved to be a decisive factor for new tenants. Thanks to this, we have been able to maintain occupancy at a very high level.”
At the same time, the property team worked to reduce energy consumption throughout the site. Measures taken in consultation with tenants included adjustments to the HVAC/cooling and heating controls, including a reduction in the central temperatures. He has minimised the need for gas fired boiler heating and, in turn, maximised efforts to consume waste heat. He also prioritized reheating with heat pumps in the air handling units along with complete shutdown of the boiler rooms as part of the low cost of electricity. Of course, it was also a matter of course to switch off the aftercooling using induction units during the winter months. In addition, in coordination with the tenants, he toned down night and weekend operations and reduced the interval lighting in the garages and common areas. In addition, Walter joined a citywide movement to support turning off the log lights during the dead of night. As a result, there was an average 20% reduction in energy consumption, with nearly 30% for gas and 10% for electricity.
In any case, going forward CBRE does not plan to rest on its laurels. It plans to implement a complete ESG strategy, including reducing its carbon footprint, further optimising its operating costs and making investments to further enhance the value of the properties entrusted to it. “Property management is a never-ending process, but with the right set-up, really great results can be achieved. And these, combined with owner satisfaction, are our driving force for the future,” concludes Jiří Beránek.
