Allee Sustainability Performance Recognized

The Allee Shopping Center in Budapest has received a five-star rating in the GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) system, making it one of the best-performing retail facilities in the Eastern European region. The prestigious ESG benchmarking system evaluates the sustainability performance of real estate based on a complex methodology that takes into account more than a hundred indicators and evaluation criteria.

GRESB is one of the world's most recognized ESG benchmarking systems in the real estate sector. It assesses the performance of more than 2,000 real estate funds and facilities annually based on environmental, social, and governance criteria, enabling industry comparison and transparency. The assessment examines more than 100 indicators, from corporate governance structure and sustainability strategy to energy and water consumption, emissions reduction and innovative operational solutions. The five-star rating is the highest available, awarded to the top 20% of performers in their category. Allee ranked first among Eastern European retail groups and fifth among European unlisted retailers out of nearly 100 units surveyed.

"This result is not only a prestigious rating, but also feedback that our investments and continuous improvements in sustainability are measurably improving the performance of the building. One feature of the GRESB system is that it only takes into account developments from the previous three years. This means that continuous innovation is necessary to maintain or improve the level previously achieved," the Technical Director of Allee, Dávid Tuska emphasized.

Allee's GRESB score has risen steadily in recent years and currently stands at 94 points, one of the highest in its category. The improvement was particularly significant in the areas of energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions, with a 4-5% improvement over the previous year. Significant progress has also been made in water management, with an improvement of nearly 10 percent, partly due to the introduction of a greywater utilization concept.

One of Allee's special features is its climate-responsive building automation system, which regulates the building's energy consumption based on weather forecasts and real-time external data. The system is able to respond dynamically to changes in the weather, ensuring that the building always operates with the most efficient energy consumption, which contributes to the optimization of energy consumption. This solution is rare in Hungary and demonstrates Allee's commitment to technological development.

The shopping center's electricity supply comes from 100% renewable sources. Allee has its own solar panel system and this year signed a PPA (power purchase agreement) contract with a domestic solar power plant, under which it purchases part of its electricity directly from a dedicated source, which is a much more transparent energy source. This makes Allee one of the first to implement direct green energy procurement in the domestic commercial real estate market.

The facility is constantly developing its energy efficiency solutions, from modernizing lighting systems to using more efficient electric motors and developing automated systems. Although these investments can now be considered more of a fine-tuning exercise, they have a significant overall impact on the environmental footprint of the operation.

Allee's goal is to set an example in responsible operation in the long term, to continue to represent best practices in environmentally friendly building management, and to provide an increasingly conscious, environmentally friendly environment for shoppers. The five-star GRESB rating is both professional recognition and motivation. It proves that the building focuses not only on customer experience but also on sustainable operation in the future.