StorHub, GreenA Consultants and UnaBiz Partner to Achieve Green Certification for the Largest Portfolio of Self Storage Facilities in Singapore

Thursday, 18 January 2024, SINGAPORE – StorHub Self Storage Group (StorHub), Asia Pacific’s leading self storage platform, announced that the company has achieved certification in Arc Skoru and is on track to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design v4.1 Operation and Maintenance (“LEED v4.1 O+M” or “LEED”) certification for the largest collection of self storage facilities in Singapore. StorHub has partnered with GreenA Consultants and UnaBiz, to achieve the certification, marking the beginning of StorHub’s journey to green certify the company’s portfolio of properties throughout the region, including Australia, Greater China, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia.

LEED certification is a globally recognised symbol of sustainability achievement, and it is backed by an entire industry of committed organisations and individuals paving the way for market transformation. Its adaptability in reporting standards across various countries and regions is the key selection criterion for StorHub, as it aligns with their global ESG compliance strategy. Green building certifications such as Green Mark, BREAM, NABERS, Green Star and WELL, are also used to assess and recognise buildings which meet certain sustainability standards.

To meet the rigorous requirements of LEED certification, StorHub partnered with GreenA Consultants as the green building consultant to look at multiple energy strategies reduction and digital-led smart enabling solutions to push energy optimisation. This will in turn enable a smart integrated Facilities Management operation across the global portfolio with strategic energy management solutions.

Apart from energy emissions, water, waste, and indoor air quality are targeted for improvement in all the developments. Smart monitoring is critical in understanding improvement needed in the future and to continuously strive for reduction in emissions.

Other sustainability initiatives include a roof garden, hydroponics, and innovative engagements with the community at large that set StorHub apart from other businesses. StorHub continues to give back to society through striving towards the company’s sustainability goals.

By leveraging on UnaBiz's expertise in digitalisation and IoT, the trio created a connected ecosystem that collects precise electrical and water consumption dataand indoor air quality metrics via Milesight’s LoRaWAN Certified 9-in-1 indoor air quality sensors in all StorHub’s 18 properties in Singapore.

With support from GreenA Consultants, StorHub was able to meet the stringent certification requirements for Arc Skoru in line with LEED certification by implementing various sustainable practices, thus aligning StorHub’s progression to become the largest LEED certified portfolio of self storage buildings in Singapore , and the first to integrate multiple sites with the Arc Skoru performance platform, a sustainability reporting tool, to measure the LEED impact of StorHub’s sustainability efforts.

Through a wireless retrofit solution, the project was completed in 2 phases, with quick installation turnaround time and no costly infrastructure overhaul. The utility consumption data and environmental data required for LEED certification is then seamlessly fed into this sustainability reporting tool.

StorHub actively aligns with the city-state's commitment to environmental sustainability. The self storage operator’s on-going sustainability initiatives include:

I. Installing solar PV panels with a capacity of 2.34 MW(p), planned to expand to 3.02 MW(p) by early 2024, covering about 25% of StorHub's total energy needs;

II. Increasing the number of electric vehicle charging points from 14 to 32 stations by early 2024;

III. Setting up recycling facilities at 18 properties to collect and reuse more than 35 tonnes of recyclables; and

IV. Implementing various other measures to enhance energy efficiency.

To support the Singapore Green Plan 2030, StorHub has secured a SGD180 million sustainability-linked loan (SLL) from CIMB and UOB. This is unprecedented in Asia's self storage industry, positioning StorHub as a pioneer in the industry that commits to long-term sustainability efforts.

Mr Mike Hagbeck, Group CEO of StorHub, said "At StorHub, we believe in the power of collaboration and innovation to drive measurable sustainability goals. We are committed to integrating ESG principles across our facilities in the Asia Pacific. Working with GreenA Consultants and UnaBiz enables us to structure the sustainability efforts and collect reliable and accurate data for compliance with reporting standards like LEED to facilitate audits and certifications, and to create self storage facilities that add value to our customers, investors, partners, communities, and a greener environment."

Ms Farizan d’Avezac de Moran, Senior Partner at GreenA Consultants commented, "StorHub’s leadership commitment to sustainability and innovative practices has enabled us to push forward with the implementation across multiple assets in the most cost effective and efficient manner. Being the largest self storage asset owner, StorHub has shown all-round commitment to sustainability beyond energy and has included strong social and governance action. Together, we are making beneficial positive environmental and economic impact in the self storage industry."

Mr Jonathan Tan, Managing Director of UnaBiz Singapore said, "We are proud to be part of this milestone project, which showcases the possibilities of digitalisation and IoT technologies in driving sustainability. GreenA’s expertise in implementation of sustainable practices for net-zero and net-positive energy buildings coupled with UnaBiz's end-to-end IoT solutions, help StorHub collect fit-for-purpose data which can be benchmarked for sustainability reporting and green certifications."