Warehouse developer LemonTree has joined the United Nations Global Compact initiative under the aegis of the UN. This initiative aims to support companies in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, LemonTree joined the Climate Positive programme, which implements the climate goals set by the UN.

Based on the data from the Central Statistical Office of Hungary's (KSH) 2022 census, it seems that an A/C revolution is taking place in the Hungarian residential property market. The figures suggest that there will soon be areas where air cooling will be as much a part of the expected comfort of homes and rental properties as flush toilets and hot water. According to an expert at OTP Real Estate Point, this process was triggered by a particular confluence of circumstances at the beginning of the decade.

Ghelamco has become a member of the Partnership for Climate program initiated by the City of Warsaw.

Climate change presents new challenges for the real estate sector but also an opportunity to get ahead of the competition. The topic was discussed at Balkans Property Forum 2021, Property Forum’s annual event in Belgrade.

The 2028 pledge, launched ahead of COP26, is a potential game changer for the industry as the accelerated action plan aims at net zero without offsets several years ahead of IPCC’s target date. Nordic real estate investor, NREP, has committed to being carbon neutral by 2028 without offsets, encompassing both operational and embodied carbon. 

CPI Property Group plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and commits to transition all electricity purchases by the Group to 100% renewable sources by 2024. The company announced changes to the Group’s environmental strategy and targets.

Concrete and the cement used as a binder in it have been found one of the major contributors to climate change. Cement production accounted for 7% of all global carbon dioxide emissions in 2018, a ratio unlikely to decrease in coming decades as concrete remains one of the most often used resources on Earth. This has made creating a technology that prevents large quantities of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere when concrete is poured necessary, according to an article by the World Economic Forum.

ESG considerations play an increasingly important role in investment, financing and location decisions across the real estate industry. Four Colliers experts talked to Property Forum to discuss the role of sustainability in the post-COVID-19 world.

BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management (BNP Paribas REIM) has successfully launched the first property fund that sets out to be compliant with the 2015 Paris Agreement, a landmark agreement that brought nations together to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future. 

Skanska plans to build the first climate-neutral office building in the CEE region. The developer is going to use a solution based on structural timber, as wood is a natural resource that will help reduce the carbon footprint. Construction works on the office building located on Radlická Street in Prague are planned to begin in 2023. Skanska has made a global commitment through a climate target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, with a 50% reduction by 2030.