Klaas Nijssen, the leader of iqbi, is a nominee for the Smart Leader of the Year award, which recognises visionary individuals shaping a sustainable future through innovation and collaboration. Under his leadership, iqbi is accelerating the adoption of real-time utility data solutions across the Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) and wider real estate sectors. Nijssen’s approach is defined by a holistic, end-to-end ecosystem that integrates hardware installation, meter configuration, software, and API integration to provide instant visibility into electricity, heating, gas, water, and solar consumption. This comprehensive vision distinguishes him from competitors who often offer fragmented solutions, making his leadership highly relevant as ESG and compliance mandates increasingly demand accurate, real-time data.

The immediate priority for the project is driving market adoption of iqbi’s proprietary platform to demonstrate measurable efficiency gains. Through this platform, clients can instantly detect inefficiencies, monitor consumption trends, and identify leakages, leading to significant reductions in resource usage and improved operational efficiency. By automating data collection, Nijssen has enabled more accurate, auditable reporting that strengthens regulatory compliance while reducing manual errors and effort for operators. His ability to tailor these scalable solutions to different market segments—including both student housing and construction - has expanded iqbi’s influence across the European built environment.

Looking to the future, Nijssen is positioning iqbi to become a leading provider of sustainable building performance data throughout Europe. The long-term vision focuses on scaling the platform launched this year and continuously enhancing its capabilities and user experience. By establishing iqbi as a trusted partner for real estate owners and operators, he aims to deliver high-quality, reliable utility data that enables smarter decision-making, greater transparency, and more efficient asset management. Ultimately, his leadership demonstrates that sustainability innovation is most effective when technology is actionable, scalable, and directly aligned with clients' operational and environmental goals.