With our services, we want to help reduce energy consumption in commercial and industrial properties for the long term and make buildings fit for a climate-neutral future.
In 2024, ista acquired Chargemaker, a specialist provider of EV charging infrastructure. Over the next few years, we want to increase the number of charging points in Germany from the current 3,000 to 25,000. We also aim to provide our customers with the best possible support in the field of photovoltaics: in the UK, for example, we recently completed a project with a large supermarket chain.
Through the full acquisition of Chargemaker GmbH in August 2024 ista has further strengthened its commitment to climate-friendly mobility solutions. Chargemaker has many years of experience in planning, implementing and operating charging infrastructure, particularly in the commercial real estate sector. The company’s some 40 employees currently manage over 3,000 charging points in Germany and it plans to increase this number to 25,000 in the coming years, together with ista.
Electromobility is a key way of reducing CO₂ emissions. Over the past 12 months alone, Chargemaker's charging points have enabled over 20 million kilometres of emission-free driving, saving more than 3,100 tonnes of CO₂ compared with combustion engines. Our solutions offer customers real added value, covering everything from location analysis to day-to-day operation.
By investing in Chargemaker, ista is advancing its strategy of becoming a “one-stop shop” for climate-friendly, real estate-related services.
"Together with ista, we are creating the conditions to bring comprehensive, efficient and future-proof charging infrastructure to properties,” explains Björn Dethlefsen, Chargemaker's Managing Director. “Our mission is to make electromobility as easy as possible for companies and the real estate industry – technically, economically and sustainably.”
Björn Dethlefsen
Managing Director of Chargemaker
Is there any way to improve the efficiency of an older heating system? This is a frequent question among homeowners looking to reduce their CO₂ emissions and costs. With our HeatPilot service, we provide customers with an intelligent solution for heating system management. While retaining the existing equipment in the boiler room, we can give a new lease of life to older heating systems.
24.5% of heating energy saved
We have also proven this in our own logistics centre in Germany. We installed HeatPilot there over two years ago and have since cut heating energy consumption by an average of 24.5% (adjusted for weather conditions). This is good news for the environment, too: since the heating control system was installed in March 2023, the site's CO₂ emissions have fallen by over 50 tonnes.
This technology benefits many buildings, including those owned by local authorities. The city of Essen, for example, has now commissioned ista to install HeatPilot in three schools to improve the efficiency of the existing heating systems. This is how we are also giving school buildings a future.
In January 2025, ista UK successfully launched a photovoltaic solution for Farmfoods, a supermarket chain with more than 300 stores and four logistics centres.
At a logistics centre in Solihull in the Midlands, we installed a photovoltaic system comprising 1,250 modules and a total area of 2,460 m². As a comparison: an Olympic swimming pool has an area of around 1,250 m². Farmfoods uses 100% of the energy generated on site.
ista designed, financed, installed, and also operates and maintains the system. This project is our first Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in the United Kingdom. As the plant operator, we have concluded a long-term contract with Farmfoods: The supermarket chain buys the electricity generated at a fixed price over a defined term - a sustainable and economically secure strategy.
All relevant energy data are displayed in the ista solution MinuteView, ensuring Farmfoods always has full insight into all current generation and consumption figures. The advantages: greater planning security, reduced energy consumption and a strengthening of the company's sustainability goals.
"With our turnkey solution, we are helping Farmfoods reduce their carbon footprint sustainably with our proven expertise in the energy sector and project management. In addition, our partner benefits from a reliable energy supply and, as a result, long-term planning and cost control."
Oliver Schlodder
CSO Group, ista SE
The quality and availability of consumption data are becoming increasingly important in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting. The ista ESG Manager reduces the need for manual processes by providing centralised, consistent data management. It delivers an integrated solution for the automated provision of heat consumption data, covering approximately 75% of emission-relevant information. The database can be flexibly expanded to include other relevant environmental metrics. This structured data management forms the basis for efficient, legally compliant ESG reporting that meets not only regulatory requirements, but also the specific demands of financial institutions.
The system also enables continuous monitoring of energy consumption, CO₂ emissions and costs, as well as benchmarking against similar properties. The combination of reliable data capture, intelligent analysis and user-friendly visualisation builds trust among stakeholders and facilitates the strategic management of sustainable real estate portfolios.
More than 300 companies with over 380,000 properties already use the ista ESG Manager in Germany. Demand is high, which is why the software will soon be available in neighbouring Denmark and Switzerland. Other countries are in the pipeline.