Univé sustainable assurance project launched

21 August 2020

Energie Fonds Overijssel recently invested in the Sustainable Security Univé project, which makes commercial roofs asbestos-free and simultaneously provides the company with sustainable energy. A great win-win situation. The investment will be used to further roll out the project in Overijssel.

Sustainable energy makes Dutch business roofs asbestos-free free of charge

Univé will be offering free asbestos roof remediation for its business members. The cooperative is launching a new energy concept called 'Duurzame Zekerheid' (Sustainable Security), through which Univé, in collaboration with various partners, will make commercial roofs asbestos-free and equip them with solar panels. The sustainable energy generated by the roofs will then be supplied to private members in the region. In the coming period, Univé expects to make 50 farms, commercial properties, sports complexes, and other business real estate asbestos-free in several regions, and to start supplying sustainable, regionally generated energy to an initial 2,500 households.

Financial tightrope
Many entrepreneurs with an asbestos roof find themselves in a financial bind. Their commercial property with an asbestos roof is virtually unsaleable, which can cause problems for business continuity. Furthermore, asbestos roofs are difficult to insure, and the remediation of the roof is often a (too) costly investment. As one of the largest agricultural insurers in the Netherlands, Univé recognises the problem that its business members in the agricultural sector are also facing. In the run-up to Sustainable Security, the cooperative, in collaboration with one of them, tested the final solution in practice last year. After research confirmed sufficient buyer potential in the region, the cooperative remediated the roof of a farm in Groenlo and installed solar panels on the cleared space, which supplied energy to Univé members in the region. With fifty connected households in the meantime, the pilot is a great success.

Letter on exploring the asbestos roofing fund
In 2019, a ban on asbestos roofs was rejected by the Senate, shortly after the House of Representatives had approved the proposal. More than a year later, in June, the State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management, Stientje van Veldhoven-van der Meer, shared the findings of her exploration of the possibilities for establishing a corporate asbestos roof fund for businesses with the House of Representatives by letter. In addition to her recommendations for a credit guarantee for banks, the introduction of a transition fund, and risk capacity from the central government and provinces to help finance remediation, the executive researcher SIRA Consulting also points to interesting developments from the market. The exploration report sent along extensively highlights the total solution from Univé as an example of the innovative market initiatives being undertaken.

A future without asbestos risks
After the summer, Univé will launch the initiative on the market. Under the name Duurzame Zekerheid (Sustainable Security), the cooperative will begin in September with the free asbestos removal from the first of fifty business roofs in the Netherlands, and as a result, with the offering of sustainable energy in the surrounding regions. Jan Willem Bolhuis, proposition manager at Univé and responsible for the development of Duurzame Zekerheid, finds the name fitting: ‘By providing our business members with a sustainable roof free of charge, we offer them a unique solution, giving them the security of a future without worries about asbestos risks. And it provides them with more financial room to invest in their company. Moreover, we are demonstrating that excellent solutions can be devised from the market that benefit everyone involved.’

For members, by members
Bolhuis explains that the fact that the generated solar energy subsequently flows to members in the region aligns with Univé's cooperative ethos of ‘For Members, By Members’. 'Traditionally, Univé has been a regionally involved cooperative, close to its members and mindful of their interests at a local level. We can provide them with clean, regionally generated energy at a fixed, market-rate price, thereby contributing to the sustainability of their living environment. This perfectly fits the cooperative we want to be.'

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