SATO invests in the future resilience of its home buildings

Improving energy efficiency has become an increasingly important priority for residential property investors following the energy market turbulence of recent years. Where and how the energy used in buildings is generated also plays a key role in their future resilience. SATO has strengthened its energy self-sufficiency by investing in solar power and geothermal heating.

World Green Building Week, taking place this week, highlights the future resilience of buildings. One of the themes of the week is energy efficiency as a way to reduce costs and improve preparedness for future energy shocks. SATO has strengthened the future resilience of its portfolio in recent years by investing in energy efficiency and locally produced renewable energy.

Over the past year, SATO had solar panels installed on the roofs of 60 apartment buildings and converted five properties from district heating to geothermal heating. By year-end, over 9,000 SATOhomes were already covered by local energy production. This year, the company plans to increase the number to 12,000 and to 15,000 by the end of 2030, representing around half of its current housing stock.

Preparing for the future

Locally produced energy is used as property electricity, for example to power lighting in common areas and ventilation. Increasing energy self-sufficiency reduces SATO’s reliance on purchased energy and improves its ability to respond to changes in the energy market.

“Energy investments improve cost predictability even in the short term, but above all they help us prepare for the future. The greater the share of our energy needs that we can generate locally, the less our business is exposed to changes in the energy market. In addition to improving future resilience, we are reducing emissions of our properties and increasing the value of our housing portfolio,” says Arto Aalto, SATO’s EVP, Investments.

Energy solutions for decades to come

SATO aims for its apartment buildings to have a lifespan of at least a hundred years. This means that the energy solutions implemented today have an impact on buildings’ energy consumption and costs far into the future. Improving energy efficiency and increasing locally produced renewable energy are an important part of SATO’s long-term development of its housing stock.

“When it comes to energy solutions, we can no longer focus only on today’s consumption or energy prices. We need to make our home buildings more resilient to future changes as well,” says Aalto.

#BuildItReady #BuiltEfficient #WorldGreenBuildingWeek

For more information, please contact:
Arto Aalto, EVP, Investments, tel. +358 20 134 4392, arto.aalto@sato.fi

Media enquiries
Terhi Jokinen, Senior Communications Specialist, tel. +358 20 134 4307, terhi.jokinen@sato.fi