ESG as value proposition for clients
Sustainability has become a core priority for all participants in the real estate market. Real estate funds, asset managers, developers and occupiers: ESG concerns all our clients today and impact-related considerations are integrated into every phase of decision-making, from due diligence to asset management.
What’s going on?
5 meta-trends
Market competitiveness
Occupiers place significant importance on the ESG aspects of their buildings. With CSRD, demand for buildings with superior ESG performance is expected to rise as tenants reduce their Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. There is a growing demand for greener buildings equipped with EV charging infrastructure and low-carbon heating and cooling systems. This demand is driven by regulatory pressures as well as an enhanced brand image plus attractiveness to the end customer.
Green capital
Investors and lenders optimize their portfolios by investing in high-performing assets that offer resilience against long-term regulatory, cost, and environmental risks, while delivering premium returns (or avoiding brown discounts). As regulatory pressure increases, the proportion of funding available for green investments grows.
ESG regulations
ESG regulations are increasing. The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) mandates that fund managers disclose sustainability risks and goals for financial returns of investments (EU Taxonomy). Large companies must comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires reporting on both inward and outward ESG actions and impacts, through a double materiality assessment. Additionally, the EU's Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) requires the energy performance and decarbonization of buildings.
Future-proof compliance
We mitigate foreseeable and unforeseeable compliance risks. Not only to minimize future regulatory compliance risks but also to ensure long term sustainability of real estate assets, by reducing dependence on scarce resources like water and fossil fuels.
Operational costs
Aligning assets with sustainability goals can reduce high operational costs. Energy-efficient buildings incur lower energy expenses, and access to local renewable energy decreases dependency on fluctuating energy prices.
Supporting our Clients’ ESG Certification
The increasing importance of ESG has spurred demand for robust reporting and certification frameworks.
There are benchmarking tools such as the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) to measure and rank the ESG performance of their portfolios.
The Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) provides pathways for decarbonization in line with the Paris Agreement, enabling the assessment of stranding risks for assets and associated costs. Thus helping portfolios adhere to Net-Zero pledges.
In addition to these portfolio-based assessment tools, there is a growing trend in adopting green building certifications such as BREEAM, LEED, and DGNB. These certifications set high sustainability standards for design, performance, and management, offering guidance for their implementation in both new developments and existing buildings. They also bring marketing opportunities for better brand positioning, showcasing their sustainability credentials, and enhancing building quality. Increasingly, properties are being designed and retrofitted to meet these high environmental
and social standards.
On a mission
‘23 Highlight: Building a better tomorrow
Sunrock believes in a side-by-side system for reaching sustainability and ESG goals. We are in this together. With all our clients, partners and peers. Impact is a shared effort, always.
We provide access to local green energy through the installation of solar PV systems on rooftops. We handle all the necessary elements including feasibility studies, investment, construction, management, and maintenance. We develop smart solutions with energy storage and management systems that will prepare properties for electricity demands, sustainability goals and ESG credentials for investors, developers, and occupiers. What would that be, where would we be, without you?
‘Energy-positive buildings’ generate more energy than they consume and display strategic, smart energy solutions. Contributing to net zero operations and anticipating future energy growth. The Kanaaldijk distribution center houses 13,892 solar panels with a total capacity of 6.39 MWp, equating to the electricity needed to supply approximately 2,400 households annually. The sustainable energy generated is directly supplied to the tenants Albert Heijn, HEMA, and Ampère (part of bol.com) at a competitive rate, making their daily operations more sustainable. Sunrock developed, built, and now takes care of the operation of the PV system here, while Intospace® has full control over what happens to the power produced and to whom it is supplied.