As a housing association, Woonpartners is at the centre of society. We want to contribute to a sustainable world of tomorrow. Together with tenants and partners, we want to make a structural contribution to a sustainable society in which everyone takes his or her own responsibility.

Read here our sustainability vision: 'Think big, start small and finish sustainable together'.

Sustainable office

Based on sustainable thinking, we have transformed the Helmond office into a future-proof working environment. With a focus on three sustainability themes:

• Circularity
• Health
• Energy

With a circular approach, products at the end of their lifespan are not regarded as waste, but as a source of raw materials that can be reused. At Woonpartners, this translates into the use of - preferably demountable - products and materials with a responsible origin in the design, construction and maintenance of buildings, so that we can reuse those products and materials in the future in a high-quality manner.

Several circular products and materials can be found:

• Interior walls have been reused.
• All floor finishes are detachable.
• Old desk tops have been incorporated into the new interior elements
• Wooden beams have been reused when filling the stairwells.
• Old spiral stair treads have been reused to make conference tables.
  
• Wall finishes were made in a number of places from old textiles or old floorboards from the demolition-new construction project on Vondellaan in Helmond.

Building Circularity Index©
For the renovation and sustainability of the office, the degree of circularity was determined using the Building Circularity Index© (BCI), with 0% being fully linear and 100% being fully circular. Our transformed office has a BCI score of 58%. A striking detail here is the high score of 76% on detachability. This means that high-quality reuse is easy to achieve.

Recycled furniture

Nearly 30% of our furniture comes from the old office, and mostly only slightly refurbished for reuse. In addition, 65% of the furniture is second-hand. Only 5% of the furniture is new. We are proud of this beautiful presentation.

We took several materials to a designer, and they made new furniture for us. For example, the long table in our Gasterie: this table was made from the spiral staircase from our old office.

We believe it is important for employees to have a pleasant and healthy working environment where they feel at home. The large green wall and the various room plates scattered throughout the office contribute to this. The replacement of the air handling unit, has not only provided an energy benefit, but this has also improved the air quality.

During the work, we naturally also made healthy choices. For instance, we consciously chose paint that is 100% made of ecological raw materials and therefore does not contain any harmful and chemical substances.

The focus for energy sustainability is on reducing energy consumption. The office roof has been insulated, we have used energy-efficient boilers and the entire building now only has LED lighting with presence detection. More than 168 solar panels on the roof of the adjacent car park and another 96 on the roof of our office ensure sustainable generation of the energy we use. In the office and on the road, as our company vehicles are electric.

Green wall stairwell:

This lichen is harvested in an environmentally friendly way. No harmful, toxic agents are used in the entire process from harvesting to processing. The moss wall has a lifespan of more than 10 years.

Coffee:

KAARS coffee: a better society starts with better choices. Candle coffee has four core values: better to the farmer, the environment, workers and society. You can read KAARS coffee's story here.

https://kaarskoffie.nl/kaarsre...

Blue felt acoustic wallcovering (made of textile): Spijkerbroekwand

Really Acoustic Textile Felt Cotton Blue by Danish brand Kvadrat is produced from various wool and textile waste streams. The material consists of 70% textile and 30% two-component binder. This makes it a high-quality, durable, sound-absorbing and decorative material. The main ingredients are end-of-life textiles and waste from Kvadrat's production and supply chain. No water, dyes or chemicals are used during production. The felt 'look and feel' refers to the tactile nature of textiles.

View more from this manufacturer:

https://www.kvadrat.dk/en/really/products2/acoustic-textile-felt

Wooden walls consultation rooms:

We reused the floorboards from the demolition-newbuild project on Vondellaan in Helmond. These floorboards are now prominently featured as wall finishes throughout the building.

Kitchen, Gasterie, pantry blocks and cabinets:

We used old desks to finish the kitchen in our Gasterie, the pantries on the floors and for the cabinets.

Step by step, a little better every day. We challenge you to think and move with us. Do you have any questions or ideas? Get in touch with us.