Sustainability is key for Intea as a long-term property owner and manager of social infrastructure.
Sustainability is key for Intea as a long-term property owner and manager of social infrastructure. We aim to own the properties we manage and acquire for a long time, so sustainability efforts are undertaken throughout the company and are an integral part of our day-to-day work. We want to create longstanding relationships with our tenants and partners that respect the environment and incorporate social and financial responsibility.
Property life cycle
Properties affect the environment throughout their life cycle, from design, construction, refurbishment and management to demolition. Environmental and sustainability measures are continually applied, from each individual office to tenants and subcontractors. We carefully select environmentally friendly materials when refurbishing and constructing buildings, and have a range of energy efficiency and emissions reduction targets in place.
The greatest environmental benefit that a property company can have is to sustainably preserve, maintain and develop older buildings in the portfolio. Studies show it takes over 50 years for a typical newly constructed office building to become as energy efficient as a well-maintained turn-of-the-century property, taking account of overall operating energy consumption and the environmental impact of the construction stage.
Our goal is for all new buildings that we construct to be environmentally certified. Certification of premises has become increasingly important for our tenants. Intea’s projects take a specific environmentally sustainable approach from the initial design stage, and this is reflected throughout work on each project and helps cut certification costs.
Code of conduct
We actively promote sustainable development and social responsibility. As part of this, we have established a supplier code of conduct (in Swedish) to achieve an increasingly sustainable supply chain. Responsible business practices, with each supplier setting requirements for its suppliers, creates a secure and reliable process.
ISO Certification
The company is certified for ISO 9001:2015 (quality) and 14001:2015 (environment) management systems. We take a long-term ownership approach to our property portfolio and have our own local management units. Quality and environmental management systems provide additional tools to help manage our properties and ensure our work is conducted sustainably, with consideration for both the environment and quality. This also ensures systematic monitoring of management and property development.
For further information, please see our Sustainability Policy and Quality Management Policy..
Energy consumption
Reducing energy usage has long been integral to the work of our local management units and measures are taken continually. Climate-controlled heating and cooling systems are used in several locations. Various types of LED lighting, solar photovoltaic panels and ground source heating and cooling systems have been in use for a number of years. For instance, Vänersborg is the site of a large, modern geothermal heating system consisting of 82 boreholes, each 240 metres deep. The system provides 85 percent of the heating for a lettable area of 43,100 sqm, including for a swimming centre. It also means that the entire area is self-sufficient in cooling, corresponding to energy consumption of 600 MWh.
Social engagement
As a company working with properties for various types of public services, we naturally aim to play an active role in society. We do this in a number of ways, including through sponsorship and by supporting local organisations. For example, Intea’s Vänersborg office sponsors Polstjärnepriset, a classical music competition for young people. Intea is also a sponsor of IFK Vänersborg, a top-flight bandy team that also has a large youth academy scheme in the municipality. In Östersund, we sponsor IFK Östersund football club.
