UTRECHT – The Utrecht Court of Audit is damning in a new report about the sustainability that the municipality has set itself the goal. The conclusion is that the task of making 344 buildings energy neutral by 2040 “barely gets off the ground”. So far, two buildings have been made more sustainable. Next year there should be 57, but that is no longer feasible.
The Court of Audit also notes that sustainability is insufficiently substantiated, both financially and substantively, and the municipal council is not properly informed about the status of the plan.
Acceleration statement Energy neutral Core real estate
The auditing body examined the Acceleration Statement Energy Neutral Core Real Estate, which was started in 2018. Core real estate is real estate that is fully owned by the municipality and that serves a policy objective. “It could be swimming pools, for example, but also the town hall itself,” explains Utrecht Auditor Board member Sjoerd Keulen.
This concerns a total of 344 buildings. The municipality has released extra money to cover the extra costs of sustainability.
This so-called Acceleration Statement is divided into a number of five-year periods in which part of the real estate is made more sustainable. By 2023 57 buildings should be made more sustainable, but so far only two buildings have been tackled. “The target for 2023 is therefore not attainable,” concludes the audit office, which therefore advises the municipality to adjust its expectations downwards. The body also believes that the council should be better informed.
“The city council has received a lot of information and has asked for it several times,” says Keulen. “A motion has been passed three times to obtain insightful reports. But because information has been distributed, it is not possible for the municipal council to gain insight into it. We believe that the council should be informed in an unambiguous manner and in the same place, so the council can see the progress.”
According to Cologne, the municipality has “insufficient grip” on the Acceleration task. “On the one hand, this is not well substantiated, such as which buildings are selected for what reason and when they need to be tackled. On the other hand, too little money has been reserved to refurbish all those buildings and make them sustainable.”
Climate projects
It is not the first time that the Court of Audit has noted that sustainability in the city is not running smoothly. In a report published last December, the Utrecht Court of Audit also concluded that the municipality is insufficiently aware of the results of projects intended to help achieve the climate goals.
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