ARTICLES LABELLED WITH TAG ESG

As the European Union has proposed the move towards zero-emission buildings by 2030, a significant portion of the energy consumption of these projects should be covered by energy from renewable sources. This includes renewable energy produced on-site or nearby so property companies are starting to invest in such facilities in a bid to lower operating costs and meet targets under their ESG agendas. The investments in such capacities have been boosted by the high energy price environment and the need of property companies to enhance the security of power supplies.

The Czech real estate market in 2023 will be driven mainly by inflation, which will also determine this year´s ten real estate market trends. Among them will be high construction costs, pressure for ESG compliance and looking for a balance between savings, spending a responsible investing, says Colliers in its real estate market prediction for this year.

Stefan de Goeij has rejoined CTP as ESG and Energy Lead, after a two-year break, reporting directly to the company’s founder and CEO Remon Vos.

Some players in the Hungarian commercial property sector have made significant steps to transform the industry, but the majority have failed to do so. Property Forum asked Zsombor Barta, President of the Hungary Green Building Council (HuGBC) about the way the entire industry should act to reach net zero as adopted by the European Union.

Some developers forecast that sales prices will increase in the future purely as a result of the zero-emission requirements currently being placed on buildings but there is no consensus as to what the ultimate effect will be. Robert David, Partner and Tomáš Kren, Senior Associate at Wolf Theiss’ Prague office talked to Property Forum about the increasingly important role ESG compliance plays in real estate transactions and potential regulatory changes that can affect the market.

Negotiators of the Council and the European Parliament reached an agreement aimed at taxing imports based on the greenhouse gas emissions needed to make the products, which would extensively cover the imports of construction materials. 

DHL Supply Chain has developed a carbon-neutral real estate portfolio of 400,000 sqm to support customers' growth requirements across six European Tier 1 markets. 

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the development of the secondary market for green commercial real estate in CEE with an equity investment of up to €50 million, in partnership with Adventum's Penta real estate fund. The partnership will acquire commercial real-estate assets, which will then undergo upgrades to improve their resource efficiency.

The last two years marked steep growth for the Slovak developer Corwin. With their four new acquisitions, they have grown to be the largest developer in Ljubljana and have sold their flagship project Blumental as one of the largest transactions of the year in Bratislava. In 2022, Corwin also published its first sustainability report.

Residential developers in Poland are aware of the importance of ESG but they feel that their customers are often still focused on the price only. The participants of the ESG panel of Living Investment Forum 2022, held by Property Forum in Warsaw recently, agreed that the legal and financial pressure put on the construction industry may not be enough and there is still a lot to be done in terms of education.