SBTi confirms climate targets align with 1.5-degree target of Paris Climate Agreement

Vonovia: SBTi confirms climate targets align with 1.5-degree target of Paris Climate Agreement

• Vonovia is one of six companies in Germany's property sector to be validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). 
• According to the CDP, Vonovia is recognised as one of the world’s leading companies in climate protection measures and has been awarded an A- rating for best practices. 
• The financial market is increasingly calling for effective strategies to meet climate targets.

Bochum, 18 April 2024 - Vonovia, Europe’s leading housing company, has established a range of climate targets that are supported by science-based methodologies. Furthermore, Vonovia SE’s climate path aligns with the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement. This conclusion was reached by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) after a comprehensive assessment of the company’s near-term climate targets for 2030. The CDP also awarded Vonovia an A- (Leadership) in its climate change rating, thus confirming the company’s position as a leading global climate strategist and a benchmark setter in best practices.

“We are delighted that the SBTi has validated our climate targets and therefore affirmed our dedicated efforts in climate protection. Science-based climate targets are of vital importance to the financial market, offering reliability, reducing financing costs and fostering valuable innovation,” says CFO Philip Grosse, highlighting the significance of the A- rating and the validation by the SBTi.

Specifically, Vonovia SE has pledged to reduce its absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030 compared to the base year of 2021. Additionally, by 2030, Vonovia aims to reduce its absolute Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions in the categories “Fuel and Energy-Related Activities”, “Use of Products Sold” and “Downstream Leased Assets” by 25% compared to 2021.

Vonovia is one of only six companies in Germany’s property sector to be certified by the SBTi as meeting science-based climate targets. The property and construction sectors play a crucial role in achieving the 1.5-degree target, which is why investors are increasingly focusing on independent verification of this ambition.

Confirmation from the SBTi and CDP shows that Vonovia’s sustainability strategy has been setting standards in the property sector for several years. With its climate path, Vonovia aims to achieve a nearly climate neutral building stock in terms of greenhouse gases by 2045. The three main drivers in this regard are a boost in efficiency through energy upgrades for building envelopes, an increase in the share of renewable energies in local neighbourhoods and a comprehensive transformation of the energy sector. In addition, both the management system and the remuneration of its Management Board are fundamentally linked to the Sustainability Performance Index.

The SBTi is a non-profit organisation and comprises the United Nations Global Compact, the We Mean Business Coalition, the World Resources Institute, the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). It develops standards and benchmarks for rating for greenhouse gas reduction targets (GHG targets).

The CDP is a global non-profit organisation that has established a worldwide reporting and rating system for climate and environmental data from companies, cities and countries. It was founded in 2000 and works with over 740 financial institutions, collectively holding more than $136 trillion in assets. Worldwide, over 23,000 companies took part in the CDP Climate Change Rating in 2023. Ratings are provided in four categories: A (Leadership), B (Management), C (Awareness) and D (Disclosure).

You will find photographic material for publication free of charge at https://www.vonovia.com/download-dam/180798.  Please cite the following source: Vonovia/Simon Bierwald.

 Text: To achieve its climate targets, the housing company Vonovia is investing in the expansion of renewable energies such as solar power.

And also: https://www.vonovia.com/download-dam/180789. Source: Vonovia/Simon Bierwald.

 Text: This building was given an energy upgrade and an additional floor in timber construction. It is part of a Dortmund neighbourhood that is currently being connected to a district heating network.

About Vonovia

Vonovia SE is Europe’s leading private residential real estate company. Vonovia currently around 546,000 residential units in all attractive cities and regions in Germany, Sweden and Austria. It also manages around 71,400 apartments. Its portfolio is worth approximately € 83.9 billion. As a modern service provider, Vonovia focuses on customer orientation and tenant satisfaction. Offering tenants affordable, attractive and livable homes is a prerequisite for the company’s successful development. Therefore, Vonovia makes long-term investments in the maintenance, modernization and senior-friendly conversion of its properties. The company is also creating more and more new apartments by realizing infill developments and adding to existing buildings.

The Bochum based company has been listed on the stock exchange since 2013. Since September 2015 Vonovia has been a constituent in the DAX. Vonovia SE is also a constituent of additional national and international indices, including DAX 50 ESG, Dow Jones Sustainability Index Europe, STOXX Global ESG Leaders, EURO STOXX ESG Leaders 50, FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe, and GPR 250 World. Vonovia has a workforce of approximately 12,000 employees.

Additional Information:

Approval: Regulated Market/Prime Standard, Frankfurt Stock Exchange

ISIN: DE000A1ML7J1

WKN: A1ML7J

Common code: 094567408

Registered headquarters of Vonovia SE: Bochum, Germany, Bochum Local Court, HRB 16879

Business address of Vonovia SE: Universitätsstraße 133, 44803 Bochum, Germany

This press release has been issued by Vonovia SE and/or its subsidiaries solely for information purposes. This press release may contain statements, assumptions, opinions and predictions about the anticipated future development of Vonovia (“forward-looking statements”) that reproduce various assumptions regarding, e.g., results derived from Vonovia’s current business or from publicly available sources that have not been subject to an independent audit or in-depth evaluation by Vonovia and that may turn out to be incorrect at a later stage. All forward-looking statements express current expectations based on the current business plan and various other assumptions and therefore come with risks and uncertainties that are not insignificant. All forward-looking statements should not therefore be taken as a guarantee for future performance or results and, furthermore, do not necessarily constitute exact indicators that the forecast results will be achieved. All forward-looking statements relate solely to the day on which this press release was issued to its recipients. It is the responsibility of the recipients of this press release to conduct a more detailed analysis of the validity of forward-looking statements and the underlying assumptions. Vonovia accepts no responsibility for any direct or indirect damages or losses or subsequent damages or losses, as well as penalties that the recipients may incur by using the press release, its contents and, in particular, all forward-looking statements or in any other way, as far as this is legally permissible. Vonovia does not provide any guarantees or assurances (either explicitly or implicitly) in respect of the information contained in this press release. Vonovia is not obliged to update or correct the information, forward-looking statements or conclusions drawn in this press release or to include subsequent events or circumstances or to report inaccuracies that become known after the date of this press release.