Public transport expert Dávid Vitézy, CEO of the governmental organisation Budapest Development Agency (BFK), was recently invited by RICS to join its ranks as a Fellow Member, recognizing his unique professional knowledge. On the occasion of this new appointment, he talked to Property Forum about the future he imagines for Budapest.

Logistics developer VGP is committed to further implementing comprehensive and sustainable measures along its sustainability strategy in the next years to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. To this end, the company has now set itself new 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.

CTP has purchased 460 hectares of forest in Eastern Czechia, raising the total forest the company owns to 560 hectares. The purchase is part of CTP’s strategy to own one sqm of forests for every one sqm of buildings it has, and with this ownership, to restore and protect the forests’ native biodiversity. This purchase brings CTP to the 89% benchmark of this goal.

Although recently analysts have been focusing primarily on the impact of the pandemic, long-term trends on the property market are also shaped by another factor, namely climate change. The term sustainable development in real estate most often has positive connotations. Certificates granted to “green buildings” increase their prestige and appeal to future users. However, the environmental factor in property valuation also has its dark side. Commentary by Alicja Zajler, director of Valuation and Advisory Services at Colliers.

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.

CTP raised €500 million with their third green bond issue on 18 February 2021, increasing the total raised from Green Bonds to €1.55 billion since their inaugural issuance in September 2020.

Panattoni has summarised its activities in the field of sustainable development. In 2020 alone, the company obtained green certificates for 2.6 million sqm of its developments as well as a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating for one park with a score that makes it the greenest industrial building in the world. Panattoni’s portfolio also includes facilities with BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and ‘Very Good’ certificates as well as DGNB at the ‘Gold’ level. The developer is now taking its latest steps in this area, including introducing energy from renewable sources (RES) to its buildings and upgrading them to BREEAM certification at the ‘Excellent’ level.

The topic of sustainability has become one of the most important megatrends of our time. Sustainable construction is also becoming increasingly important in the hotel real estate market, leading to an increase in demand for corresponding certificates in Austria, according to Christie & Co.

Twin City Tower, an office building in Bratislava developed by HB Reavis and sold to a South Korean investor in 2019, has been awarded a WELL Core & Shell Certification at the Gold level and it’s the third-largest building in Europe to reach the standard.