Pensionskasse der Bewag
Which interventions should be prioritized, when, and at what capital cost while maintaining the intended CO₂ trajectory?
With Optiml, tasks that used to be carried out in Excel – a laborious and error-prone process – can now be handled far more efficiently and to a much higher standard. As well as the tool itself, we were particularly impressed by the excellent support provided by the Optiml team.
The situation
The pension institution’s publicly stated investment principles describe its predominantly residential, directly held real estate portfolio in the Berlin metropolitan region and a lifecycle-based approach to planning maintenance, modernization, and energy efficiency. The Optiml project brought that long-term ownership perspective into explicit portfolio and asset-level scenario comparisons.
The challenge
For a long-term property owner, decarbonization is not a single building upgrade. Heating systems, fabric interventions, asset lifecycles, and capital availability interact. Pensionskasse der Bewag needed a way to evaluate these trade-offs as one portfolio strategy: where investment was necessary, where it could be timed differently, and which alternatives would preserve the desired climate pathway without treating the most capital-intensive renovation package as the default.
The solution
From building options to comparable investment pathways
The collaboration brought distinct capabilities together. Pensionskasse der Bewag defined the ownership and investment context; FREO contributed real estate and investment expertise; pom+ supported ESG and technical feasibility work; and Optiml supplied the Real Estate Decision Intelligence (REDI) decision layer for evaluating alternatives.
Instead of relying on one fixed renovation roadmap, the team worked with a shared evidence base and scenario-based modeling. That made it possible to compare renovation and investment pathways across the portfolio, review their capital implications alongside the CO₂ trajectory, and explore how changed assumptions—such as Berlin’s heat transition—could alter the plan. The resulting strategy covered a 25-year investment horizon.
The results
1 | An identified capital opportunity—not a realized saving
Optiml’s published account reports more than 30% cost savings identified while showing minimal impact on the modeled CO₂ pathway. The claim describes an opportunity revealed through strategy comparison, not money already saved or an independently verified realized return. A public follow-up from Optiml links the benchmark to the initial plan.
2 | A decision framework that connects technical and financial priorities
The relevant decision was not simply whether individual technologies could cut emissions. It was how interventions, expenditure, and timing compare across assets and under long-term constraints. This moved the discussion beyond isolated technical measures toward a more reviewable capital-allocation pathway.
3 | A bridge between strategy and specialist execution
Optiml provided the portfolio decision model; FREO and pom+ contributed specialist expertise. Together the partners combined investment, technical, and ESG perspectives in a common workflow. The published case describes portfolio-wide renovation and ESG assessment, but does not publish a verified schedule of completed building works.
Why it worked
On 24 June 2026, Pensionskasse der Bewag received the RealGreen Award in the (Portfolio-)Strategie category. DENEFF named pom+ Consulting AG and Optiml AG as its partners for the award-winning strategy. The recognition concerns the approach to portfolio transformation; it should not be read as proof that projected savings or emissions reductions have already been realized.
Why this matters for institutional owners
This case illustrates a practical shift in the role of decarbonization planning. A portfolio strategy must survive questions about capital intensity, timing, asset condition, and implementation feasibility. Scenario comparison lets decision-makers challenge one pathway against another before committing scarce capital. The software does not approve spending or execute refurbishments: people remain responsible for selecting a strategy and carrying it into feasibility, budgeting, and delivery.
Pensionskasse der Bewag’s example shows how building information, external expertise, and capital objectives can be brought together to support decisions that remain understandable as conditions change.
About the partners
Pensionskasse der Bewag is the institutional portfolio owner. FREO and pom+ contributed property/investment and specialist advisory capabilities, respectively. Optiml provided decision intelligence to compare scenarios and support capital planning. Partner roles are described at the level disclosed in the public customer story; no exclusive implementation or realized operational outcomes are implied.
Sources
[S1] DENEFF, RealGreen Award 2026 winners announcement: https://de.linkedin.com/posts/deneff_die-gewinner-des-realgreen-award-2026-activity-7475621292898115585-SzMT
[S2] DENEFF press statement reproduced by Architekturblatt (30 June 2026): https://www.architekturblatt.de/effizient-wirtschaftlich-umsetzbar-realgreen-award-2026-zeichnet-vorreiter-der-bestandstransformation-aus/
[S3] Pensionskasse der Bewag, Investment Principles: https://www.pensionskasse-der-bewag.de/Anlagegrundsaetze
[S4] Nico Dehnert, public explanation of planning benchmark (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ndehnert_future-proofing-real-estate-with-pk-der-bewag-activity-7478344704841940992-URte