DWS to provide clean air initiative in elevators across European real estate portfolio

DWS today announced its European real estate fund business has started to install plasma air purification technology in elevators within properties across its European real estate portfolio.

The patented and certified plasma air purification device cleans air in elevator cabins removing viruses and other harmful particles within milliseconds. This immediate and continuous process protects against airborne infection and returns elevator capacity back to normal, even in corona times.

DWS aims to equip a total of around 750 elevator cabins in Europe with this air purification technology, including office buildings, residential buildings, hotels and shopping centres. The first devices have already been installed in properties in Germany.

Benita Schneider, Head of Real Estate Asset Management Europe at DWS: "This is an important initiative for tenants and users of these buildings who will benefit from an improved overall health and wellbeing experience, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic and the expectation that footfall will start to increase in offices, hotels and shopping centres. We are pleased to implement this technology as we strive to keep the properties within our funds up to date with the latest innovations, which help to ensure we maintain attractive and high-quality buildings."

This initiative is another component of the sustainability strategy within DWS’s real estate fund business, in this case on the aspect of promoting health and wellbeing. DWS has previously announced an Environmental target in 2019 to reduce the CO2 emissions of its entire European office property portfolio by 50 per cent by 2030.

As a fiduciary partner, DWS remains committed to becoming a leading ESG manager and to providing ESG expertise to enable clients to invest responsibly and in a way that contributes to a sustainable future. DWS was among the early signatories of the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2008 and is the first German asset manager to join the Net Zero Asset Manager initiative in December 2020.

For further information please contact:

Nick Bone
+44 (0) 20 754 72603
nick.bone@dws.com

DWS - Real Estate

DWS has been investing in real estate assets for more than 50 years. As part of the Alternatives platform, the real estate business has more than 400 employees in nearly 25 cities around the world with more than EUR 67 billion in global real estate assets under management (as of March 31, 2021). Providing a diverse range of strategies and solutions across the risk/return and geographic spectrums, we offer core and value-added real estate, real estate securities, real estate debt and opportunistic real estate. The real estate investment business employs a disciplined investment approach and aims to deliver attractive long-term risk adjusted returns, preservation of capital and diversification to its investors, which include governments, corporations, insurance companies, endowments, retirement plans, and private clients worldwide.

 

About DWS Group

DWS Group (DWS) is one of the world's leading asset managers with EUR 820bn of assets under management (as of 31 March 2021). Building on more than 60 years of experience, it has a reputation for excellence in Germany, Europe, the Americas and Asia. DWS is recognized by clients globally as a trusted source for integrated investment solutions, stability and innovation across a full spectrum of investment disciplines.

We offer individuals and institutions access to our strong investment capabilities across all major asset classes and solutions aligned to growth trends. Our diverse expertise in Active, Passive and Alternatives asset management – as well as our deep environmental, social and governance focus – complement each other when creating targeted solutions for our clients. Our expertise and on-the-ground-knowledge of our economists, research analysts and investment professionals are brought together in one consistent global CIO View, which guides our investment approach strategically.

DWS wants to innovate and shape the future of investing: with approximately 3,500 employees in offices all over the world, we are local while being one global team. We are investors – entrusted to build the best foundation for our clients' future.