Vacancy Measure

According to reports such as the Exponential Roadmap and the Circularity Gap Report, reducing new construction of building space is one of the most effective measures to radically reduce the environmental and climate impact of the construction and real estate industry. In Sweden, this is also emphasized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) report “Resource-efficient premises – space sharing as the norm”, where the clear conclusion is that sharing of existing premises must become the standard rather than the exception. To enable this transition, the real estate sector needs new business models, but above all, the sector must start measuring and valuing things that are currently ignored – above all, how spaces are actually used, rather than how much space is built or owned.

At Vakansa, we work with the insight that “what gets measured gets done”. That is why we are launching the “Vakasna Mäta” initiative, the purpose of which is to create and implement new key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure resource efficiency in the form of space use. Together with around forty real estate industry players, banks and valuers, we have developed these key figures to clearly show how premises are used and identify where space is wasted.

In the project, we use innovative methods for data collection, including sensors with 96 percent accuracy that accurately measure the number of people using a particular premises at different times, supplemented by self assessment forms where tenants themselves can indicate their needs and usage patterns. In addition, we collect complementary data from access control systems, booking systems and other relevant sources, which provides a comprehensive and nuanced picture of how premises are actually used.

By producing data and visualizing resource efficiency, we can help property owners and tenants identify inefficient spaces, which creates clear incentives for change. The insights lead to concrete action plans to reduce space waste through, for example, increased sharing, better planning of space needs, space optimization and optimized operation based on actual use, not assumptions. In this way, we help organizations both reduce their costs and contribute to important sustainability goals where saving square meters is central.

Our primary target group is property owners and tenants who want to increase their understanding of how premises are used and how their needs change over time. For property owners, this provides important indicators of tenants' activities and any changes, which helps them proactively manage risks such as layoffs, bankruptcies or unleased space. Through a deeper understanding of the tenant's real needs, the property owner can also optimize adaptations, create more attractive premises and thereby both retain existing tenants and attract new future tenants. Buildings that are used multifunctionally by multiple tenants, instead of functionally and stand empty when the intended tenant does not use the space.

For tenants, this means an opportunity to proactively adapt their premises to real needs rather than maximum capacity or assumptions when it comes to estimating how space is used, something that research shows is common and especially relevant after the increasing proportion of remote work since the pandemic. Many organizations today pay for significantly more space than is needed, which means an unnecessary waste of resources in terms of both money and environmental impact. Especially if they pay 100% of the rent, use an office 10% of the time (source: Vasakronan) and have an occupancy rate of less than 50% due to remote work.

Through our method, tenants can easily identify redundant space, reduce their costs through renegotiation or subletting, and adapt the premises in a more productive way thanks to data.

In the longer term, Vakansa wants to create new standards & practices in the real estate sector with this project, where room sharing & efficient space use become the norm rather than the exception. Something that is in demand by sustainability platforms that work with sustainability data & the EU's new CSRS directive & ESRS standard seeks that type of data points around resource efficiency & circularity.

By spreading our knowledge and method to more sectors and businesses, we hope to contribute to the real estate industry taking decisive steps towards a more sustainable and resource-efficient future in a comparable way!