The Ascott Limited achieves EDGE certification for its Citadines Holborn Covent Garden property, showing that decarbonisation of Britain’s historical buildings is possible.
| Project Name | Citadines Holborn Covent Garden |
| Developer | The Ascott Limited |
| Owner | CapitaLand Investment |
| Location | London, UK |
| Total Floor Area Certified | 7,465.52 m2 |
| Building Type | Hospitality |
| Certification Date | February 2023 |
| Savings achieved | 36% Energy savings; 43% Water Savings, 99% Less embodied energy in materials |
Project Overview
The Ascott Limited (Ascott) is a Singapore-based company that has grown to be one of the leading international lodging owner-operators. Ascott’s portfolio is made up of 14 core brands and spans over 220 cities across more than 40 countries. Ascott is a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Investment Limited, one of the largest real estate investment management companies in Asia. Citadines is just one of the brands belonging to Ascott, which provides a luxury hospitality experience across some of the world’s most loved cities.
Citadines Holborn Covent Garden is an Apart-hotel situated in the centre of London in the borough of Camden. The building comprises of over 7,000 square meters of floorspace, offering serviced apartments, a fitness corner along with a launderette and full kitchen for guests to use. The building is surrounded by a multitude of shops, theatres and restaurants and is at the heart of the rich historical and cultural heritage of the British capital, making it a popular destination for those visiting the city.
Originally designed by the renowned architect Frederick J. Robinson, the building was constructed in the early 1880s and was used for various purposes, including offices and the headquarters for several insurance companies. During the second World War, the area was heavily affected by bombing and the building itself sustained damage as a result. The site was rebuilt in the 1950’s to the site we know today. In the straitened economy of postwar Britain, energy efficiency was not a requirement within the construction industry. Consequently, when the Ascott Limited began their journey of renovating Citadines Holborn Covent Garden they were challenged with upgrading the old inefficient structure to a modern, sustainable building.
The retrofit strategy
Sustainability is a top priority for both CapitaLand and Ascott. In 2020, CapitaLand launched its Sustainability Masterplan, part of which addresses the environmental impact of its building portfolio. This is particularly important in the hospitality sector, where building owners are not in control of elements such as the energy and water consumption of the buildings occupants. Implementing efficiency measures helps people make better decisions and allows building owners to reduce the consumption of their properties.
Due to the age of the building, Ascott undertook a renovation of Citadines Holborn, to upgrade the systems and improve the resource efficiency. It used the EDGE standard to validate its achievement. Some of the measures that Citadines Holborn implemented to improve the energy efficiency of the building included installing an energy efficient cooling system, energy efficiency lighting and a heat pump for water heating. To improve the water efficiency of the building they installed water efficient showerheads, faucets and water closets. These measures enabled Citadines Holborn to reach the EDGE Standard, achieving 36% energy savings; 43% water Savings and 99% less embodied energy in material. This equates to impressive 141.5 tons of CO2 saved annually.
Although the building has now already achieved EDGE certification, Citadines is currently undertaking additional refurbishments to the Holborn building, using the EDGE App as a tool to further develop its retrofit strategy. By analysing the options on the EDGE App and the relevant efficiency savings using the inbuilt calculators, the Ascott determined that installing an air source heat pump to the site would bring the best return on investment, cost savings and efficiency for the building,
The main challenge the Ascott team faced whilst undertaking the certification process was data collection. Some documentation was missing due to the age of the building and some documentation dated back as early as 1995, making it complicated to prove compliance against the EDGE standard. The team worked with Sintali and SGS to seek alternative methods of compliance to validate measures implemented and ensure that all documentation was up to the level required to achieve the certification.
Why EDGE?
CapitaLand is committed to growing in a responsible manner, delivering long-term economic value, and contributing to the environmental and social well-being of its communities. As part of its ESG strategy it has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. To realise this commitment, CapitaLand aims to reduce its absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 46%, up from 28%, by 2030 from a 2019 base year. As part of this, CapitaLand recognises that reducing energy use and improving energy efficiency through innovative building design will play a key role in achieving these targets.
As part of this broader commitment, Ascott has set its own emissions reductions targets and committed to undertaking EDGE certification across much of its portfolio. Ascott has already achieved EDGE certification for 6 of its hotels across the UK, France, Vietnam and Malaysia, and is in the process of certifying dozens more properties.
What was attractive about the EDGE green building standard for the Ascott team was its focus on data. Ascott could use the data from the EDGE app for sustainability reporting and to map out the company’s progress in achieving its net zero goals. Furthermore, as the EDGE certification scheme can be used in every country in the world, the standard suited the global reach of Ascott’s portfolio.
What’s Next?
This project serves as a testament to the Ascott Limited commitment to sustainability, showing that retrofitting the UK’s oldest buildings to more energy efficient structures is possible. In the UK approximately 70% of the non-residential building stock was constructed before the year 2000 and almost a third of commercial properties in the UK are historical sites. With the built environment responsible for 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions, retrofitting existing buildings will play a huge role in the UK achieving net zero by 2050. It is estimated that improving the energy efficiency of the UK’s historical buildings could reduce carbon emissions from the UK’s buildings by 5% each year. One study even estimated that retrofitting these buildings could generate £35bn of economic output a year. With a clear environmental and business case for retrofit, the Ascott Limited is a pioneering example of how to retrofit our existing buildings at scale. Ascott currently has a further 38 properties, spanning 10 countries, that are in the process of becoming EDGE certified. Furthermore, once certified, Ascott prioritises continually improving these buildings and working on its existing properties in order to minimise its impact on the environment.
Sustainability doesn’t just stop at EDGE certification for CapitaLand. Amongst many sustainability initiatives within the group’s strategy is a commitment to increase the total electricity consumption from renewable energy sources to 45% by 2030 and invest in the use of onsite and offsite renewable energy for its properties. They have also achieved the GSTC-Recognised standard, owned by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, which is focused on the impact of tourism on the environment. Both CapitaLand and the Ascott Limited are pushing forward a greener future in the hospitality sector.
