Duurzaam bouwen is beter voor je businessmodel A sustainable business model. As an investor that will sound like music to your ears. But what is your daily reality? You’re horrified by the ever-changing needs of the users of your buildings! Within ten to twenty years your valuable investment appears to be hard to let or sell without substantial and expensive alterations. Vacancy and demolition irreversible lead to loss of capital and a diminished return on investment. Where exactly do we go wrong and how can we change that? I researched the facts and discovered a strong link between economic, social and environmental sustainability. Knowledge that will help you. Please make use of it.

The facts

  1. Needs and wishes of owners/investors and users rarely coincide. So a sustainable business model is hardly feasible because the owner wants a profitable investment, the user a home for pleasant living and working.
  2. The wishes and needs of users repeatedly change over the years, and they change faster and faster. This is sometimes true for the appearance of a building, but always for the fit-out and installations.
  3. Different parts of a building have a different life cycle. The life cycle of a bathroom or kitchen is much shorter than for the supporting structure and the facade.
  4. We build mostly as if nothing will change and everything is equally durable, how totally unrealistic!.

The consequences: no sustainable business model

  1. Dissatisfied users who ruin a building by neglect and then leave.
  2. Vacancy and demolition of buildings no one wants to use anymore, leading to unhappy investors with an unprofitable and unsustainable business model.
  3. Disgruntled residents and public nuisance as a result of vacancy and impoverishment.
  4. Loss of valuable (biological) materials. Grinding concrete that could still be used for years is not sustainable. Especially when you simultaneously crush installations full of precious materials, because they were poured into concrete during building.

Towards a sustainable business model: the solutions

  1. With every building, take the different interests of investors and users as a starting point. Separate and respect them. That will lead to a socially sustainable business model.
  2. As an investor stop putting money in the fit-out and exclusively invest in the base building.

Your building is much more flexible and therefore useful for a longer period. It gives you an economically sustainable business model.

  1. Let the user take care of his needs and wishes at his own discretion when it comes to the interior layout, the installations and finishing. He arranges for the construction and its financing himself. This leads to socially sustainability building for the user and is economically very durable for the investor.
  2. Take into account the natural life cycle of products and building elements, so that nothing is discarded prematurely. That provides an environmentally sustainable business model.
  3. Then we can ensure that (biological) materials return to the supplier or to nature. The environmental and economic gains are even greater. I think it is a task of the government to have a tracking system developed. But that’s a different story.

Towards a sustainable business model: the evidence

In the Netherlands and elsewhere in the world there are numerous examples that illustrate that it works very well to separate the interests of investors and users per building. It’s been done regularly with shops and other retailers. The tenant/user gets a bare space with utility connections. The tenant independently takes care of the fit-out at his own cost and risk. And when the lease ends, the space is easily and quickly adapted to the new tenants purpose. And of course you can always sell your fit-out. In Japan a law was installed in 2008 and went into effect in 2009 that fiscally only rewards this separation for homes and apartments. Investors and users are not forced but seduced. The measures initially focused on single-family homes, detached and semi detached, but the business model also proves to be very lucrative for apartment buildings. In terms of the sum of investment the new model has already proven to be equal to traditional levels. So what are we waiting for? There is work to be done in the Netherlands and beyond!

 

Take the next step and share your experiences

Do you want to take a next step? Come to the FREE* Masterclass. We will work with practical tools to instantly implement the actions of my ebook in your organizational, fiscal or financial projects and organization.

Join the conversation

Do you know how to build that new way and what you need? When will you have achieved this all? Share it in the comments below.

To your health and wellbeing,

Remko Zuidema