The Serenity office building is located at 19-21, route d'Arlon in Strassen and it is owned and managed by asset manager Fidentia, who pulled out all the stops for this project. The building was the first to receive a HQETM certification for buildings under construction in Luxembourg in 2008 and now it has just been granted the HQETM certification for buildings in operation. Why is such certification important? Mr Henri Legrand, Fidentia's director, explains: “Today, all new buildings are green or certified. This approach is necessary and we encourage it, but this is no longer enough to differentiate ourselves and attract new tenants. This is why we have decided to go further by focusing on the way the building is operated, with the help of our tenants. It is also a way to make sure that we stay on course and always keep the costs incurred by the building as low as possible in order to always be able to have an economically attractive building. We are convinced that investing in “green” buildings helps create superior added value, particularly because it makes them so attractive to occupants.”

The construction sector represents almost 40% of the European Union's aggregate energy consumption. And 80% of that consumption is due to the operation of buildings. There is ample room for improvement and obtaining the HQETM certification for buildings in operation is one way to improve performance in this area.

Fidentia called upon the services of PwC Luxembourg to support the certification process for the Serenity building. “One of the challenges of this kind of project is to bring together all the parties involved in running a building and making sure that they are all on board for the project. We made ourselves available to Inowai, the building's manager, and Wagner FM, its facility manager. This has been an exciting awareness-raising and project management exercise. For instance, we helped implement new tools such as a high-performing monitoring software programme. Then, you need to assess the performance achieved by the building and its various stakeholders” says Laurent Rouach, partner in charge of sustainable development at PwC Luxembourg.

The first phase of the project consisted of analysing the building's existing operating processes and practices. Next, energy-saving measures were identified, implemented and tested. Shutting down humidifiers in the summer months is one important example. Luxembourg's weather conditions – air humidity in particular – require no additional humidification in the summer. Shutting down the humidifiers completely during that period helped to significantly reduce the building's electricity and water consumption. A number of settings including thermal regulation and operating schedule were scrutinised during the project. The objective was to make the way the building is operated more effective while maintaining an appropriate comfort level for its occupants. Without the need to invest in new equipment, optimising the way a building is operated helps reduce energy and water consumption, and ultimately brings down operating costs.

“Operating costs go from €2.5 per square metre per month, exclusive of taxes for new certified buildings to €7.5 per square metre per month, exclusive of taxes, for buildings constructed over 10 years ago and using specific techniques. The costs incurred by the Serenity complex are at the lower end of the range at €2.5 per square metre per month, exclusive of taxes. The operating costs incurred by the assets in our portfolio are on average between €4 and €4.5 per square metre per month, exclusive of taxes” says Guillaume Perrodin, Senior Advisor - Environment & Energy Efficiency Consulting at INOWAI.

Cerway, a global operator for HQE certification, audited the Serenity building in July and confirmed the assessment made by PwC Luxembourg: the building is rated excellent in the “sustainable building” and “sustainable management” categories. “We are extremely pleased to be able to award the very first HQETM certification for buildings in operation outside of France. After receiving a certification for the building's construction, Serenity opted for a long-term commitment since the HQETM certification for buildings in operation highlights the performance of a sustainable building on a day-to-day basis. This is a demanding approach which reflects a real commitment towards sustainable development” concludes Corinne Block-Raguin, Executive Director of Cerway.