Investing responsibly in sustainable investment funds

Investing sustainably in one of our Revive property funds is investing in more. More value, more financial returns. More nature and more social commitment. Because sustainability goes beyond just energy, materials and the environment. It is also about affordable living, peace and quiet, and space outdoors and indoors for everyone. A green and social environment with healthy mobility. Neighbours and neighbourhoods. Added value on every level, so to speak. The right ESG criteria and the right parameters for investment in the long term.

In order to objectively evaluate - and guarantee - the sustainability, or we can just say social impact, of our projects, we developed the Revive BMI index.

The Revive BMI index: measure, and increase, social impact

Our Build Massive Impact index or Revive BMI index is an objective monitoring tool for measuring the sustainability of our construction projects. We assess each project against 48 concrete sustainability goals based on 12 SDGs that we contribute to and linked to our 5 company values: environmental impact, inclusivity, convenience for residents and the sharing economy, openness, and health. On the basis of the separate scores, we assign each project a final sustainability score: the BMI score or Revive score. This has dual purposes: internal oversight of project quality and sustainable Revive DNA, and to guarantee transparency externally.

Investing sustainably in accordance with the ESG criteria and the SFDR.

Financial returns are only healthy if they contribute in the long term towards a sustainable economy, the environment, and the society of tomorrow. By making an investment in a sustainable investment fund, you are going wholeheartedly for a ‘massive impact’ route - the fruits of which will be yours to pick.

ESG criteria for investing sustainably

Environmental

Revive works from the very start towards sustainable construction and business. Towards water recuperation, solar power, heat pumps and other sustainable applications. Not only because it is becoming the legal norm, but because it is our standard for all our projects. This gives us scope to look beyond the norm: how can we innovative more and better? With circular materials, life cycle analyses of our construction products and a commitment to be CO₂ neutral by 2030, we can comfortably tick off the ‘environment’ factor of the ESG criteria.

Social

In a Revive residential project, the residents - along with the wider neighbourhood - are central. They are human, sociable places. This is achieved by the three community builders. Together with the residents, they organise events, grow the sharing culture and bring people with the same interests and skills together. The result: a close-knit community that provides a great place to live. The social aspect of ESG? Double check.

Governance

You also know you can genuinely sustainably invest in a Revive project because of our good management. We act as an expert panel and share our knowledge with our network by delivering national and international sessions on affordable living, social impact and circularity. We continuously raise the bar for ourselves, challenge our architects and contractors to do the same - and that’s how we remain the leader in sustainable urban neighbourhoods.

SFDR-compliant

The ‘Good Life Development Fund II (GLDF II)’ Revive fund is officially compliant with the EU’s ‘Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulations’ which tackle greenwashing and strictly define the ESG funds and their impacts. GLDF II was therefore awarded the article 9 ‘Dark Green Fund’ - as proof of the climate-neutral goals and transparent communication of all the sustainability risks. What did this entail: a tough evaluation by the auditor EY to assess the internal sustainable risk management of both Revive and GLDF II.

The evaluation looks at three components for each level:

1. What risks are incorporated in the risk assessment?
   
   This risk selection was carried out on the basis of our five core values and incorporates the physical and transition risks. Physical risks: the tangible and visible impact of climate change, with climate-proof construction as the response. Transition risks: the financial impact associated with climate change and climate-proof construction which can be minimised for Revive to constantly searching for increasingly efficient technologies for construction and so on, such as solar power, geothermal power, hydrogen and more.
2. How are risks assessed?
   
   The selected risks are fed into a matrix where they are scored based on the multiplication of likelihood, financial impact and trend. For example, a flood - an upward trend in likelihood or impact - will have a higher weight in the matrix. This means the impact on financial returns and likelihood of each risk are clear to see at a glance.
3. How is the impact measured?
   
   We do this on a project-by-project basis with our BMI dashboard. The scores for each project within GLDF II are combined to reach the weighted score at a fund level.
   
   This does mean that fund managers are required by the EU to have some degree of ‘skin in the game’, as financial compensation is not only linked to the fund’s returns but also to the non-financial impact. We are finalising this for GLDF II and further refining it for the start of fund number 5.

Investing sustainably: social added value

Investing in a Revive project is investing in vibrant neighbourhoods, neighbours, and along with them a large social network - from grandpa Jos to Kamiel the neighbourhood pet rabbit. Therefore, with the BMI index we also assess inclusion, the possibility of renting, the availability of communal spaces, the proximity of the city centre and public transport... There is consideration for everyone and everything. Do you have happy and engaged tenants? In a great city-centre location? If the answer to this is yes, they will stay longer and help to increase the social return on your investment.

Applying the BMI index: this is the social impact of your sustainable property investment

• Neighbourhood barn

The community room (known colloquially as a ‘buurtschuur’ or ‘neighbourhood barn’) at the various different Revive sites is a place where residents can meet one another, and all their neighbours, and form bonds: gardening together, organising a winter barbecue or drinks gathering, triumphing in a games night or setting out on Halloween walks.

• Communal garden and other spaces

There are a communal garden, a shared bicycle store and meeting areas where they can meet up or share a room, a bike or an idea. At Minerve, for example, you can chill out in one of the four shared bioswale gardens and at Immostal in Brussels there are a bicycle workshop, a multipurpose hall, a laundrette and a guest room.

• Neighbourhood initiatives

At Den Draad in Gentbrugge, a vegetable garden on the temporary infill grew into a fabulous neighbourhood project in what is now the park, where the residents of the surroundings and broader Den Draad area do the gardening together, have harvest festivals and throw barbecues. On the Rute site, the residents’ association wants to expand the jumble sale from Gentbruggeplein onto their site, to create a strong connection with the neighbourhood.

• Access to the city

The car parks of several Revive sites already feature car-sharing vehicles available for everyone in the area to use and several sites also have bicycle sharing systems. All sites are open, allowing local residents to walk or cycle around freely. The link between de Leuvense Vaart and the ring road at Komet serves as a new, shorter route for neighbours.

• Co-housing

The central building at Komet is intended for co-living. Even more so than at the other Revive sites, the private apartments here are connected to one another more closely by shared spaces such as a lounge, a library or a games room - managed jointly by all the residents. There are also a shared kitchen, an outdoor terrace and a vegetable garden on the roof. The sharing economy and community-building are at the forefront here. At Minerva, in fact, a portion of the site was fully developed by a group of co-housers who only bought the land and took the design and construction process into their own hands.

• Rental projects

The Hejme projects in Brussels are intended for rental and co-living. Encounters between residents - such as in one of the generously proportioned circulation areas - are key here. These are specifically reserved for rental by socially vulnerable groups and alternative target groups such as young adults and international residents.

• Growth homes/starter homes

Various sites (including Minerve) feature both growth homes (where an extra floor can be constructed on top) and garden room houses with an expandable rear side. This enables the architecture to evolve together with the residents.

• Accessible and reachable for everyone (differently abled people, children, elderly people, and so on)

Great consideration is given at all Revive sites to accessibility. For example, at the Marie Thumas site you can cycle to your apartment on the 1st floor to unload your shopping. Or the Colonel Bourgh site (Hejme, Brussels), which has certain units that are designed to be easy to convert to suit different stages of life. All communal areas are maximally accessible too.

Investing sustainably: environmental added value

Sustainable construction is the future - our current passion for it is no coincidence. Our energy-efficient BEN (almost zero-energy) houses and flats - former brownfield sites, vacant land and derelict buildings - are 100% futureproof. And we can go further than that: with their renewable energy and smart technology, they are the ultimate self-sufficient green urban hubs of the future. The advantages of this: no eco-renovations will be needed in the next 15 years, the tenant will pay lower energy and maintenance costs, and there is large added value on resale.

Applying the BMI index: this means your sustainable property investment for the planet

• Heating grid running on residual heat

The entire Minerve site runs on the residual heat collected from the nearby Afga-Gevaert factory. The energy bill for residents? Zero.

• Water recuperation and bioswales

At various sites, including Minerve in Edegem and Rute in Ghent, an ingenious water recuperation system has been installed, and bioswales have been constructed to collect and purify rain water. This keeps it from having to go into the dirty sewer water and allows it to filter into the subsoil instead. The water monitoring system also enables the residents to bring down their water costs. This further increases the appeal of Revive rental projects such as Tannat in Molenbeek.

• Rainwater tank

At the Tannat site in Molenbeek, no less than 100% of the rainwater is reused for the communal washing facilities, to irrigate the garden and in the toilets of half of the apartments. There are more water buffers provided than are required by Brussels legislation: 5 x 20,000-litre tanks for a total of 100 m³.

• Sewer buffer

In addition to the 100m² rainwater buffer for reuse, the Tannat site also has another 3 x 20,000-litre buffer tanks (total 80 m³), and an infiltration tank – a tank with a perforated side to allow the rainwater to slowly dissipate. In the event of a storm and high rainfall, this will overflow into the buffer tanks and minimise the effect on the public sewer. The projects with bioswales (Rute, Minerve and others) also provide a sewer buffer because of the rainwater filtration in the soil.

• Sustainable materials/reuse & recycling

Sustainable and recycled materials are used, and elements are reused, at several Revive sites. A few examples include: reusing water sanitation and green zones at Minerve and Komet, which are also being built using circular concrete. At Saffrou, the bricks from the demolished buildings are being made into new pavement furniture.

• BEN (almost zero energy) homes

What is the target set for the Pier Kornel residential construction project in Aalst? To make the tower completely energy neutral. The compactness of the design, the high degree of insulation and the geothermal heating system all help us to reduce the demand for energy. A complete solar roof covers the remaining energy demand for heating, and solar panels will also be installed on the awnings on the front of the building if required.

• Connecting solar panels

Houses and apartments at several of the sites have been fitted either with solar panels or the relevant connections. The same is true at multifunctional sites with a combination of residential, workplace and leisure uses, such as the Marie Thumas in Leuven.

• Consideration for biodiversity

At the Minerve site, the selection of particular plants in the planting borders in the public realm promote biodiversity - and offer a snack for insects, butterflies, birds and bats. Plant species are also being picked for the green roof terraces and roof gardens which will benefit biodiversity. The communal gardens have also been designed to this end. Nesting boxes have been built for bats in all of the apartment blocks, the light intensity has been customised, there is a corridor of orange light and local shrubs have been selected for the private gardens throughout.

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