Dutch Real Estate Company OVG Makes Another Billion-Dollar Commitment to Build Sustainable Real Estate at 2011 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting

NEW YORK, September 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

OVG Real Estate, a Dutch real-estate company committed to battling climate change, announced its second billion-dollar Commitment to Action today at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting.

The commitment, called the Global Climate Change Real Estate Fund, is the second billion-dollar commitment OVG Real Estate, the European leader in sustainable real estate development, has made at CGI. In 2007, OVG committed to invest $1 billion in the development of sustainable buildings to reduce their energy use by 30 percent to 60 percent. In 2010, OVG completed this commitment an amazing two years ahead of schedule.

Sustainable real estate development; the challenge for fast developing cities

By 2020 55% of global construction spending will be in developing countries according to 2010 global construction perspectives. The next decade will see a continuing shift towards Asia and other emerging markets where rising populations, rapid urbanization and strong economic growth are the drivers for constriction according to Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics. That is the reason why OVG Real Estate wants to share her advanced expertise on sustainable development with fast developing cities.

Cities account for more than 70% of global carbon dioxide emissions

Home to half the world's population and growing rapidly, cities consume over two-thirds of the world's energy and account for more than 70 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Since cities are a major cause of global climate change, they must be a key part of its solution. Renovating existing buildings and constructing new buildings that are more sustainable in major urban areas, enables a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced globally.  Retrofits are increasingly important since 90 percent of the carbon emissions from buildings derive from existing, old building stock.

Exchange knowledge on sustainable RE development through C40-network

With her new 1 billion dollar commitment, OVG Real Estate aims to work closely together with the C-40 cities network. The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is a network of large and engaged cities from around the world committed to implementing meaningful and sustainable climate-related actions locally that will help address climate change globally.

New Commitment:

Today OVG Real Estate, the European leader in sustainable Real Estate development, launched a new commitment to build a Global Climate Change Real Estate Fund for the sustainable development of the C-40 cities.  Operationally, OVG Real Estate will invest $1 billion in the next five years in this global fund and a knowledge network and online platform to catalyze sustainable development in the built environment through environmentally sound new building construction and retrofits of existing buildings. The fund will be a model for large-scale financing of climate positive real estate development.  This is the second billion-dollar commitment concerning sustainable urban development that OVG Real Estate has made since they joined CGI in 2007.  

Previous Commitment: completed two years ahead of schedule

In 2007, OVG launched its initial CGI commitment to invest $1 billion in the development of sustainable buildings in order to reduce their energy use by between 30 and 60 percent.  Its 2007 commitment resulted in the retrofitting of buildings that reduced their carbon dioxide emissions by a staggering one megaton over the course of their  lifetime. A best practice example is the recently delivered Leed Platinum TNT GreenOffice headquarters, possibly the most sustainable headquarters in Europe, because it uses 60 percent less energy than usual and fully runs its building operations on a biofuelled heat and power system.

In 2010, OVG completed its commitment in three years- two years ahead of schedule - and is now using the knowledge that it gathered to expand its business throughout Europe, to improve the environmental performance of cities and buildings.

http://www.ovg.eu

Press Officer OVG Real Estate: Mr. Cees van der Spek (cvds@ovg.nl / +31-6-535-423-33)

About OVG Real Estate

OVG Real Estate was founded by Coen van Oostrom in 1997. Currently OVG is the largest developer in the Netherlands and frontrunner in sustainable development in Europe; with projects in construction and development in excess of two billion Euros. OVG Real Estate understands sustainability as both a challenge and an entrepreneurial responsibility. Sustainable development is one of the core values and competencies of OVG. To ensure that OVG developments are based on the best sustainable solutions, and satisfy both customer and market requirements, OVG established its own Sustainability Centre in 2008. On the basis of this experience, OVG recently secured DGNB Gold, LEED Platinum and BREEAM Excellent certifications for its developments.  As a partner in the Clinton Global Initiative, OVG Real Estate pledged in 2007 to invest one billion dollars in the construction of sustainable buildings by 2012. OVG is proud that it fulfilled this promise two years ahead of schedule. OVG is also a member of the Dutch Green Building Council and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB). For more information, visit http://www.ovg.eu

About the Clinton Global Initiative

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI Annual Meetings have brought together nearly 150 current and former heads of state, 18 Nobel Prize laureates, hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective nongovernmental organizations, and prominent members of the media. These CGI members have made more than 2,000 commitments, which have already improved the lives of 300 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued in excess of $63 billion. The 2011 Annual Meeting will take place Sept. 20-22 in New York City.

This year, CGI also convened CGI America, a meeting focused on developing ideas for driving economic growth in the United States. The CGI community also includes CGI U, which hosts an annual meeting for undergraduate and graduate students, and CGI Lead, which engages a select group of young CGI members for leadership development and collective commitment-making. For more information, visit http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.