Friederike Hoberg, CEO German Offices at Covivio

1. Why are you involved as a Berlin-Partner?

Covivio is as international as Berlin. As a specialist for office, hotel and residential real estate, Covivio is one of the leading European real estate companies with activities in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Covivio sees itself as a long-term operator as well as a reliable partner for customers, cities and municipalities. In Germany, Berlin is one of the company's most important locations. We therefore support Berlin Partners in promoting innovation and diversity in the capital.

2. What moves your company, what are you working on right now?

We are currently experiencing a change in the office segment, because the working world is in a state of upheaval. The classic 9-to-5 model has been replaced by flexible working hours and mobile working solutions, which employees are demanding as well as more quality of stay in the office. As a result, we have to develop adaptable space concepts: Offices for concentrated individual work, meeting rooms for collaboration or break rooms for casual conversations and relaxation.

At Covivio, we ask ourselves every day how we can increase the well-being and comfort of office users. Important factors include a good location, proximity to public transportation, an excellent indoor climate, acoustic and thermal comfort, natural light, and sufficient green and open spaces.

By applying standards from the hotel industry and residential construction to the development of new office buildings, we can rethink offices: as living spaces where work is fun.

3. What do you appreciate about Berlin as a business location?

The city attracts innovative entrepreneurs, investors and scientists, making it one of the leading technology centers in Europe. This promotes innovation and the exchange of knowledge. Covivio also benefits from this to find new approaches for digitizing its own business model.

The cultural diversity and quality of life fits perfectly with our corporate values and culture: Berlin is known for its openness and tolerance. We are a European company and our employees come from different nations, have different professional profiles or backgrounds.  We are committed to diversity in the workplace. Gender equality and the employment of workers of all ages are high priorities at Covivio.

4. What distinguishes your company in terms of sustainability?

Covivio has the goal of reducing emissions from our entire real estate portfolio in Europe by 40 percent by 2030. An important element of this is reducing the carbon footprint from the construction phase onwards. Here we rely on innovative methods and approaches to create sustainable real estate that conserves resources.

We design our office project developments as innovative ecosystems. One example is our high-rise project at Alexanderplatz, for which Covivio has developed a sustainable mixed-use concept. In addition to offices and flex-office space, the project includes retail, restaurants, apartments and a kindergarten. We use geothermal energy and heat recovery, enabling us to implement around 42 percent of the heat supply without fuels. An intelligent retention roof and rainwater storage tanks enable rainwater to be used to irrigate the outdoor and green areas. In addition, we are installing around 1,400 m² of photovoltaic modules on the roof and facade, which will fully supply around 80 of the 312 apartments with electricity. By installing certified concrete and using intelligent building technology that is controlled according to demand, we can reduce the building's CO₂ consumption even further.