Major building sustainability programme

Witteveen+Bos, Rebel and DWA are studying how to move towards 100% sustainable energy consumption by buildings belonging to the city of The Hague and the Central Government Real Estate Agency.

Ahead of the European energy conservation and energy efficiency targets in 2050, The Hague and the Central Government Real Estate Agency have agreed to reduce the energy consumption of sixteen inner-city buildings in The Hague by 2040, while the remaining energy requirement will be generated entirely sustainability. The sixteen buildings include recognisable premises of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice and Security plus government-owned buildings like the Royal Library.

The city and the Central Government Real Estate Agency, part of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, engaged Witteveen+Bos, Rebel Group and DWA to explore the possibilities and to work out a strategy enabling attainment of the target in 2040. The three firms have combined their expertise for this purpose and have developed an approach embracing all aspects of research and implementation. They are proud to have received this contract. It allows them to make a concrete contribution to the energy transition in the inner-city of The Hague and to develop an approach towards larger scale accomplishment of the energy transition.

The study will examine combinations of energy-saving measures, local generation of renewable energy and the costs and benefits of the different options. This will include looking at opportunities and developments concerning buildings and local areas and preparedness for long-term innovations for energy reduction and sustainable energy generation and distribution. The study will be completed in October 2017, after which the proposed measures will be carried out. For The Hague and the Central Government Real Estate Agency this represents an ambitious near-term step towards large-scale sustainability.