Pro-invest Group announces first NABERS Carbon Neutral hotel and charges towards its Net Zero 2030 commitment
29 October 2021
Pro-invest Group is thrilled to announce Holiday Inn Express Newcastle, has officially become the first hotel in Australia to obtain Carbon Neutral certification under the NABERS Climate Active pathway; a testament to the hotel’s efficient design, operations and management, led by Pro-invest Group.
With sustainability a core pillar and priority for the asset management and investment firm across their hotels and new developments, Pro-invest Group, together with the support of Ecosave Pty Ltd commenced the ground works for the Group’s carbon net zero journey in 2020. This followed Pro-invest Group working closely with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to commit to devising and rolling out a Strategy to make the Australian Hospitality Opportunity Fund II Carbon Net Zero by 2030.
The commitment to Net Zero 2030 has since evolved and is very much part of Pro-invest Group’s strategy, across its asset portfolio.
With the strong trading of the Holiday Inn Express Newcastle, located in New South Wales, Australia, even during COVID-19 disruptions, the hotel was selected to trial the strategy and obtain the key learnings needed to execute the Net Zero 2030 strategy across Pro-invest Group’s hotel portfolio.
“As a hotel developer, operator and asset manager, Pro-invest Group has the ability to challenge conventional thinking, benefitting from the ability to adapt to change, try new things and build and manage its hotels to target high sustainability standards.” says Dr Sabine Schaffer, Co-Founder & Co-CEO Europe, Pro-invest Group.
“The NABERS Carbon Neutrality Certification scheme, which is in alignment to the Climate Active Standards, was the perfect fit for our Net Zero 2030 Strategy trial, especially given Pro-invest Group’s commitment to rolling out its hotel portfolio with high NABERS Energy and Water ratings.”
Some of the initiatives that Pro-invest Group embedded into Holiday Inn Express Newcastle Australia’s design include strong LED coverage, an energy management system per guest room with occupancy sensors, a light setting program and air conditioning management, coupled with water conservation measures via efficient fittings and fixtures. These initiatives have been adopted across Pro-invest Group’s Holiday Inn Express hotels, in Australia and New Zealand.
Schaffer says “Having Holiday Inn Express Newcastle achieve – and be the first hotel to achieve, Carbon Neutral status under the NABERS Climate Active pathway is a tangible example of the long-standing dedication Pro-invest Group has to developing, operating and
asset managing its portfolio to consistently targeting ESG heights. We are incredibly proud to have been awarded Carbon Neutral status for this Australian property and we look forward to continuing on delivering upon our Net Zero 2030 Strategy.”
“This milestone closely follows the recent announcement of Pro-invest Group’s first hotel, Holiday Inn Express Sydney Macquarie Park, having been awarded Aareal Bank’s first green loan which is testament to the market’s positive response to active sustainability measures across the hotel industry.”
In July 2021 Pro-invest Group announced that Aareal Bank’s first green loan had been awarded to one of its fund assets, and a mortgage loan of c. A $39 million was granted to the Holiday Inn Express Sydney Macquarie Park hotel. Holiday Inn Express Sydney Macquarie Park commenced trading in April 2016 with the hotel featuring several design, development and operational initiatives focused on sustainability.
Environmentally friendly initiatives range from sustainably produced or energy efficient equipment, smart light and air conditioning management, improved housekeeping and laundry routines, and leads up to the systematic recording and auditing of consumption data. The hotel has achieved a post construction >4.5-Star rating for both Energy and Water under the National Australian Built Environmental Rating System (NABERS) for 4 consecutive years.
Further testament to Pro-invest Group’s dedication to sustainability, in a commitment to ESG transparency and third-party verification, the Group continued to position well amongst its peers following having executed its 5th year of reporting to GRESB, during 2021. Pro-invest Group – at a score of 76, up 8 points on the year prior – ranked 4th with respect to APAC Hotel Company out of 10 for its standing investments and obtained 2nd place with respect to its Performance Score within the category of Oceania / Non-listed / Value-added / Closed- ended out of 8, for its standing investments. For its developments, Pro-invest Group maintained its score of 80, ranking 6th for APAC Hotel Non-listed Company out of 8.
“We are proud of our commitment in continuously enhancing our sustainability objectives, striving for ongoing improvement, industry leading alignments and lifting the assets under our portfolio to new heights. We have been committed GRESB members for over 5 years and recognise the importance the Assessment plays in supporting us as a group to continuously have oversight on what we do – and how we go about implementing ESG across the business. Our dedication to ESG is verified by the fantastic achievements we have accomplished not only in the past few months, but the last few years.” says Dr. Sabine Schaffer.
For more information, head to www.proinvestgroup.com
Media Contact:
Angela Cowley
Eight Communications
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +61 430 321 200
ESG Contact:
Cindy Van Der Wal
ESG Manager | Pro-invest Group
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +61 466 561 895