CEE is a competitive market based on the number of certified buildings, but companies need to accelerate carbon reduction projects, noted speakers in the ESG strategies panel of CEE Property Forum 2021, Property Forum’s first real-life event back in Vienna since 2019 which was attended by over 400 people coming from countries all over the region and beyond.
Panel chair Hajo Engelke, Managing Director at Westbridge Advisory International, suggested that there is still some hesitancy among companies on carbon reduction goals, adding that the pace of development has to accelerate in order to have a significant impact.
Martin Erbe, Head of International Real Estate Finance Continental Europe at Helaba, pointed out CEE is ahead of most Western countries in terms of the number of certified buildings and this is the first goal of meeting the tight carbon reduction targets.
The property community has a big responsibility from an environmental perspective considering that buildings generate 36% of carbon emissions across the European Union, explained Kiril Klaturov, Chief Operating Officer at Revetas Capital.
ESG would exist in itself without the climate change, but limiting greenhouse emissions seems to be the most important element, suggested dr Tamás Pásztor, Head of Legal and Operation at CPI Hungary-
Rudolf Riedl MRICS, Managing Director pf SÜBA Hungary, pointed out that in CEE the company started certifying projects much earlier than was common in Western Europe. He added that nowadays certifications are a condition for the successful sale of real estate projects.
Jan-Evert Post, Head of Funding and Investor Relations at CTP, explained that the company’s carbon neutrality operations are externally validated starting this year. In order to have all the team geared up, CTP included this factor in the internal KPIs.
