Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, part of SEB Asset Management’s German portfolio, has received a major sustainability award at the Expo Real trade fair in Munich.

The 550,000 m2 area situated in the heart of the German capital has been awarded the silver award for sustainable city quarters from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). Potsdamer Platz is one of the first city quarters to receive the award.

The project was completed in 1998 and meets the same criteria for sustainability that new quarters are subject to today. The development boasts ecological features such as drainage and soil protection and an infrastructure requiring a minimum of resources. It was built with a view to keeping energy consumption and toxic emissions to a minimum.

Nordic financial services group SEB purchased the quarter in December 2007 for a reported EUR 1.5 bn.