Berlin / Hamburg, November 11, 2021. The Hamburg-based real estate company Becken is increasing its involvement in the corporate business and is bringing Accenture, a leading global consultant for strategy, management consulting, digitalization, technology, outsourcing and business transformation, to the planning table for a new office building. The common goal of Becken and Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH: the development of a pioneering, innovative and sustainable new company location in Walldorf, a town in the south of the Rhine-Neckar district in Baden-Württemberg. The alliance between investor and tenant represents a pilot project for both partners. The planned new office building in Walldorf is intended to set new standards as a prototype in the development of climate-friendly and innovative office working environments. Further new corporate buildings are to follow. The cooperation was preceded by the purchase of the building plot by project developer Becken and the conclusion of a long-term rental agreement with Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH.

Olaf Drossert, Managing Director of Becken Estate GmbH, says: "Tailor-made project developments with a focus on climate protection and sustainability will experience even greater demand in the future. Companies, especially those from the B2C sector, have understood that consumers and business partners are now looking very closely at who is making a contribution to climate protection." According to the company, both parties are investing considerable capacity and capital to develop forward-looking, sustainable technologies.
Karl Rathgeb, member of the management board of Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH, explains: "The partnership with Becken, a professional and sustainable real estate player, will have a positive impact on our new company location in Walldorf in every respect."
Representatives of both companies will examine various aspects of the planned project development in a series of joint workshops over the coming months and, if suitable, implement it in Walldorf. Discussions will include alternative building materials such as wood, a self-sufficient energy supply, for example fed by a hydrogen power plant, a photovoltaic system or geothermal energy or geothermal cooling, as well as an innovative operator concept with smart tools for sustainable and energy-reduced management.

Joachim Schmidt-Mertens, Managing Director of Becken Development, says: "We will plan and implement an innovative office workplace concept with our tenant. Coupled with climate-friendly and smart technologies, such properties ensure the long-term satisfaction of the building user." According to Rathgeb, Accenture is also pursuing a long-term goal: "We want to work only in CO2-neutral properties by 2025. Where suitable buildings are lacking, we will have suitable locations built for us."

Accenture intends to significantly strengthen its on-site presence in Walldorf for customers, clients and joint venture partner SAP. The company also wants to offer its workforce innovative and creativity-enhancing working environments in the spirit of a New Office World, in order to ultimately be able to offer even better solutions for clients. Rathgeb comments: "It is important for us to be perceived as an innovative and attractive employer. Our buildings are our calling card."

Once the prototype has been completed, Accenture will have 3,800 square meters of state-of-the-art office space and 33 parking spaces in Walldorf. Construction will take place on a plot of around 1,500 square meters at Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 19. The building site is also associated with a statement for Becken. Jörn Stobbe, CEO of Becken Holding GmbH, says: "With the Walldorf project development, Becken is signaling that we, as a real estate investor operating throughout Germany, are prepared to work together with companies to exploit market opportunities even in atypical markets and market segments and to develop forward-looking and sustainable company locations."