Energy saving week is stupidity – think beyond!

Let’s shift the focus away from the little person, towards the real influencers.

The idea behind Energy Saving Week is the beautiful idea of involving all people who use a property. “Indeed, buildings account for 35-40% of our annual carbon footprint. However, unlike other areas of life, such as eating out, travel or everyday mobility, the individual’s influence is limited when it comes to real estate.”

When you live in an apartment building, work in an office or visit a shopping mall, the energy-saving impact of your personal decisions is marginal compared to what property owners could achieve with the right decisions.The responsibility lies with the bigger players – those who own and manage these buildings.

Why for a week when we can make it permanent?

Lasting change requires perseverance and capital. The biggest steps towards energy efficiency are taken when property owners make energy savings a year-round goal. This is not only an environmental act, but also a way to protect property values. “We are already seeing that the least energy-efficient properties are falling into the hands of investors, partly as loss-leaders.”

The role of the individual is to use their voice and vote with their feet: for example, by opting for rented apartments with geothermal heating, by participating in the decision-making meetings of a housing association and by demanding that workplaces carry out environmental impact assessments of their premises. Soon, large companies will have to report on their environmental impact anyway under the CSRD regulation – responsible behaviour will no longer be optional.

So how will the world be changed?

Change does not come from individual everyday choices alone, but from property owners making responsible and sustainable decisions. Solutions that deliver lasting energy savings are not only ecologically necessary, but also economically viable. Greenwashing alone will not do the trick – the right measures are needed to reduce energy costs and maintain property values.

LeaseGreen’s mission is to make these solutions easily accessible to property owners. We offer comparable options and demonstrate the concrete benefits in terms of energy savings. For those who doubt, remember: only green properties retain their value. Buildings that fail to be energy efficient will lose their value before they have time to destroy the world.