Tina Paillet, President of RICS, talked to Property Forum at Mipim about the real estate industry's crucial role in addressing climate change. She highlighted the sector's significant environmental impact and emphasized the need for the industry to become a force for good.

Bucharest still has some of the lowest fit-out costs in the region for offices, despite an increase of around 15-20% during the past 12 months, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox data. Office fit-out costs in Bucharest have an average of €943 per sqm, which is 32% below Warsaw and Prague, and 32% above Sofia, which has the most advantageous costs in the region.

Futureal Investment Partners, a member of Futureal Group, has finalized the ESG repositioning of its Wratislavia Tower in Wrocław, Poland. During the process, the building also received a BREEAM Excellent in-use certificate. The retrofitting project followed Futureal's "Office Impact Strategy," whereby older office buildings are being redeveloped to meet modern ESG market standards.

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.

Vlad Stanislav, Managing Director Romania at iO Partners, talked to Property Forum about the company’s expansion in the energy and infrastructure line of services and the higher yield environment in Romania’s property sector compared to other markets in CEE.

Anna Wojciechowska, Head of ESG at Robyg, talked to Property Forum about the implementation of the principles of sustainability in the Polish residential market and the factors, that will affect the ESG-related activities in the following years.

The uneasy geopolitical situation of the recent years is surely not helping investors in Slovakia and the CEE region, that is a reality investors live in. However, the discussion of the first panel during Bratislava Property Forum 2024 has revealed that there is still some room for optimism.

Sustainability will continue its massive growth, as stakeholders demand more action on environmental and social issues, and businesses and governments respond to stricter demands imposed by politics and climate pressures, finds a BuildGreen report.

Members of the European Parliament adopted plans agreed upon with the EU Council, which will contribute to reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the buildings sector, according to a statement from the European Parliament.  

Ultimately, more than 10 MW of green energy from photovoltaic farms will power Warsaw UNIT, an office building developed and owned by Ghelamco. It is the first skyscraper in Poland entirely powered by green energy. Funding for the innovative remote farm project was provided by ESCOlight, and the contractor is Revolt Energy, part of the Blachotrapez Group.