Introduction: Enhancing Portfolio Performance Through Smart Technology
BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management (BNP Paribas REIM) is one of Europe’s leading real estate investment managers, managing assets worth EUR 28.47 billion. The enhancement of property values through active asset management is central to the company’s mission, with a clear focus on sustainability and long-term viability.
As part of its broader sustainability strategy, BNP Paribas REIM is embedding smart, cloud-based technologies to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions at the portfolio level. In addition to driving energy and cost savings, these technologies provide transparency across the asset base – enabling owners and managers to identify economic and environmental optimisation opportunities as part of the company’s ESG objectives.
Challenges: Turning Data into Decarbonisation
The challenge facing large institutional portfolios is clear: how to achieve meaningful reductions in carbon emissions while maintaining asset performance and operational reliability. Traditional measures such as building envelope retrofits have their limits – their potential cannot be fully realised without comprehensive operational data and finely tuned building systems.
BNP Paribas REIM recognised that the true source of inefficiency often lies in daily building operations. By addressing this operational layer, the company sought to drive measurable impact across a diversified real estate portfolio of 68 properties located in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
The portfolio represents a wide range of property types – including office, retail, healthcare, logistics, hospitality, residential, and light industrial – spanning construction years from 1930 to 2022 and totaling approximately 1.045 million square meters of floor space. With such diversity, ensuring coordination between asset, property, and facility management has been vital in advancing BNP Paribas REIM’s sustainability goals.
Partnership with aedifion: From Pilot to Portfolio Rollout
To address these operational challenges, BNP Paribas REIM partnered with aedifion, integrating its cloud-based platform into the company’s ESG strategy. The collaboration serves as a strong example of how economic and environmental business objectives can be successfully advanced through data-driven optimisation of technical building systems.
The aedifion software connects directly to HVAC and other building systems, collecting real-time operational data to identify malfunctions, provide actionable insights, and autonomously optimise performance based on key indicators such as energy use, CO₂ emissions, and operating costs.
A pilot project was launched to demonstrate the platform’s capabilities and test its impact in practice. This proof of concept took place at I/D Cologne, one of Cologne’s most modern urban developments, situated on a seven-hectare site of a former freight station. The district combines contemporary working environments with vibrant living, hospitality, and leisure spaces – an ideal testing ground for smart operations.
The pilot building, I/D Cologne A2, features complex technical systems yet was rapidly connected to the cloud platform through a simple plug-and-play installation. The project unfolded in four decisive phases before transitioning into continuous optimisation:
With comprehensive operational data now available, the facility management team could precisely track and adjust the building’s concrete core activation – optimising commissioning and ensuring efficient operation. The AI-driven analysis provided valuable insights, supporting fine-tuning and robust documentation throughout.
Results: Proven Energy and Cost Savings
Even in a newly constructed, state-of-the-art building, immediate efficiency gains were realised through targeted operational adjustments, such as optimising the running times of air handling units.
The pilot achieved:
Since implementation, energy has been continuously saved at I/D Cologne A2 through ongoing optimisation. The approach has reduced operating costs, cut CO₂ emissions, and eased the workload of the operating team – delivering a triple win for owners, operators, and tenants.
The pilot’s success provided the foundation for a portfolio-wide rollout across all BNP Paribas REIM assets. A comprehensive portfolio analysis is currently underway, categorising each property based on its technical infrastructure. Many buildings can connect directly to the cloud platform using plug-and-play installation, while others will undergo selective modernisation or retrofitting in close coordination with asset management.
Through AI-driven operational optimisation, savings are continuously ensured. External variables – including occupancy, consumption data, and weather forecasts – are also integrated for more comprehensive performance management. The resulting data provides a robust foundation for reporting, compliance with GEG §71a, and future decarbonisation measures.
Key success factors:
Conclusion: Data as the Foundation for Sustainable Value
The collaboration between BNP Paribas REIM and aedifion highlights how digitalisation and smart cloud technology can unlock efficiency potential at scale. By using operational data as a strategic asset, BNP Paribas REIM has shown that sustainability and profitability need not be opposing goals.
This project demonstrates that data-driven optimisation can deliver significant results – not only improving environmental performance but also strengthening long-term asset value. In doing so, BNP Paribas REIM sets a benchmark for how institutional investors can integrate smart technology into their ESG strategies to achieve meaningful, measurable, and scalable impact.
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