Background

What Are The Key Data Points in ESG in Real Estate & How Are They Measured? with Aleksandra Njagulj & Simon Wallace

Transcript arrow_drop_down

Transcript

[ad_1]

Sep 20, 2022

In the third episode of season
10 of the Propcast, host Louisa Dickins is joined by


Aleksandra (Sasha) Njagulj
, Managing Director and Global Head of Real
Estate ESG at
DWS
Group
and

Simon Wallace
, Global
Head of Research and Strategy at
DWS
Group

They discuss the key data points
in ESG in real estate and how and why Aleksandra and Simon have
risen to the top of the DWS Group and are focusing their careers
within ESG. They share the products that DWS Group has found useful
in their workplace and the regulation changes they have seen in the
market. Lastly, they discuss how the current market may
disadvantage or benefit investment in ESG.


Resources:

 

Key Insights From This Episode:  

  • ESG influences a lot of my work nowadays, it’s
    always been a factor but now ESG touches pretty much every part of
    the research and strategy that we do. – Simon
  • Whether you believe in climate change or not,
    if the energy prices continue to rise, tenants are going to want
    more energy efficient buildings. – Aleksandra
  • I think we are in a market environment in
    general where we will see less investment in real estate, we got
    the real capital analytics data for the second quarter for Europe
    today and year on year investments are down by about 20%. –
    Simon
  • The current market is accelerating the focus on
    ESG in real estate, energy prices will favour buildings that are
    energy efficient. – Aleksandra
  • You can do it because you want to look after
    the environment, but now you can do it because there is a financial
    incentive as well. – Louisa

 

About Our Guests:

 

Aleksandra Njagulj, Managing Director and Global Head of
ESG, Real Estate at DWS Group:

Aleksandra (Sasha) Njagulj
is the Managing Director, Global
Head of ESG (environmental, social, and governance), Real Estate at
DWS group. She is responsible for ESG integration across global
real estate portfolios. Sasha is an accomplished ESG expert with
over 20 years of practical experience in architectural design,
design management and the sustainable built environment. In her
previous role with CBRE Global Investors, she was Global Head of
ESG with overall responsibility for developing and communicating
global sustainability priorities and strategies across all business
lines. Prior to this, Sasha was head of the Sustainability, R&D
and Innovation department at Bouygues U.K.

Throughout her career, Sasha has
built a reputation both professionally and personally for
championing the cause of responsible real estate investment. She
received the UK-based edie 2020 Sustainability Leaders Award for
Investor of the Year for an ESG programme she designed and
delivered for CBRE. In addition, Sasha was awarded the global 2020
GRESB/BREEAM Individual Leadership Award, recognising strong
leadership and commitment in the field of sustainable development.
In 2021, she won the global Future Proof Real Estate Woman award as
a leader in applying digitalisation, technology, open innovation
and sustainability to create a better built environment.

 

A qualified architect, Sasha
holds a Master’s degree in Architectural Design from the University
of Belgrade; a Master’s degree in Sustainability Leadership from
the University of Cambridge. She is a BRE Academy fellow, sits on
the INREV ESG Committee and ULI ESG Council, leads the IIGCC Real
Estate Workstream and chairs the GRESB Foundation Real Estate
Standards Committee.

 

Simon Wallace, Head of
Research, Real Estate at DWS Group.

Simon joined the Company in 2011. Prior to his
current role, Simon served as Head of Europe Research and Strategy
for Alternatives. Prior to joining, he served as an economist for
real estate research at Hammerson. Previously, Simon worked as an
economist at the Centre for Economics and Business
Research

 

BSc in Politics and Economics
and MSc in Economics from University of Bristol; Investment
Management Certificate (IMC)

 

About DWS Group:

DWS Group (DWS) is one of the world’s leading asset
managers with EUR 902bn of assets under management (as of 31 March
2022). Building on more than 60 years of experience, it has a
reputation for excellence in Germany, Europe, the Americas and
Asia. DWS is recognized by clients globally as a trusted source for
integrated investment solutions, stability and innovation across a
full spectrum of investment disciplines.

 

We offer individuals and
institutions access to our strong investment capabilities across
all major liquid and illiquid asset classes as well as solutions
aligned to growth trends. Our diverse expertise in Active, Passive
and Alternatives asset management – as well as our deep
environmental, social and governance focus – complement each other
when creating targeted solutions for our clients. Our expertise and
on-the-ground knowledge of our economists, research analysts and
investment professionals are brought together in one consistent
global CIO View, giving strategic guidance to our investment
approach.  

 

DWS wants to innovate and shape
the future of investing. We understand that, both as a corporate as
well as a trusted advisor to our clients, we have a crucial role in
helping navigate the transition to a more sustainable future. With
approximately 3,600 employees in offices all over the world, we are
local while being one global team. We are committed to acting on
behalf of our clients and investing with their best interests at
heart so that they can reach their financial goals, no matter what
the future holds. With our entrepreneurial, collaborative spirit,
we work every day to deliver outstanding investment results, in
both good and challenging times to build the best foundation for
our clients’ financial future.

 

About Our Host

Louisa Dickins

Louisa is the co-founder of LMRE, which has rapidly
become the market leading global PropTech recruitment platform and
search consultancy with operations across North America, United
Kingdom, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

To promote the industry she is
so passionate about, Louisa set up the Global podcast


‘The Propcast’
where she
hosts and invites guests from the built environment space to join
her in conversation about innovation.

 

About LMRE

LMRE is globally recognised for leading the way in
Real Estate Tech & Innovation talent management.

From the outset our vision was
to become a global provider of the very best strategic talent to
the most innovative organisations in PropTech, ConTech, Smart
Buildings, ESG, Sustainability and Strategic Consulting.

At LMRE we are fully committed
at all times to exceed the expectations of our candidates and
clients by providing the very best advice and by unlocking
exclusive opportunities across our global network in the UK,
Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

Timestamps:

[1:44] Aleksandra: What
initially sparked your interest in sustainability within real
estate?

  • Originally I was an architect so my primary
    expertise is in real estate, I know how it is designed, constructed
    and managed.
  • I discovered the issue of sustainability when I
    was working as a design manager for the Building Schools for the
    Future Program. One of the requirements of the funding was that it
    had to achieve a sustainability certification to a certain level. I
    feel sustainability is a primary issue so if I can contribute to it
    using my primary expertise then I will.

[3:54]  Simon: How did you
get into this role in ESG?

  • I started off my career as an economist working
    for a very small economics consultancy in London and then moved to
    DWS Group 11 years ago.
  • ESG influences a lot of my work nowadays, it’s
    always been a factor but now ESG touches pretty much every part of
    the research and strategy that we do. 

[7:47] Simon: Are there any key
data points and trends you can show us from your
research?

  • We still struggle for data in this area and
    there is a lot of noise around it so it is important that the more
    data points we get, the better the analysis. 
  • I think we will be moving from a world of green
    premium to a world of brown discount. I think the industry will in
    time all have high levels of environmental credential
    sustainability and the buildings that don’t will be at a discount
    rather than the market average.

[9:26] Aleksandra: How do you
tie the live data into your strategy?

  • The critical point is your due diligence when
    you’re making the acquisition decision and getting the actual
    performance data from the building. It is still not practised in
    the market to provide full information of how the asset performs to
    the potential buyer.
  • Historically we used energy performance
    certificates which are not reflective of reality, they are a
    theoretical model which only looks at regulated energy.
  • The live data for both the asset management and
    acquisition management process is incredibly important. The issue
    is that a huge number of assets have old meters, therefore smart
    solutions are really important to help digitise the data on those
    buildings.

[13:10]  Simon: Do you
think the rising interest rates, inflation and geopolitical
uncertainty will affect the investment and adoption of
ESG?

  • I think we are in a market environment in
    general where we will see less investment in real estate, we got
    the real capital analytics data for the second quarter for Europe
    today and year on year investments are down by about
    20%.
  • ESG strategies will not be fully immune to what
    is going on but the trend towards ESG based strategies will
    continue to grow and accelerate.
  • I think there are some positives to be taken
    from the price correction going on. The buildings today that are of
    poor quality and low environmental standards are likely to reprice
    at more than the market average, allowing opportunities for
    repositioning and impact.

[15:45] Aleksandra: In terms of
rising interest rates, inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, what
is affecting your strategy and investment decisions?

  • Some of these aspects are actually accelerating
    the focus on energy usage. Energy prices rising will definitely
    favour buildings that are energy efficient and give tenants a
    financial incentive.
  • These measures are payback to sustainable
    buildings either in low utility costs or higher tenant demand.
    Whether you believe in climate change or not, if the energy prices
    continue to rise, tenants are going to want more energy efficient
    buildings.

[18:58] Simon: Have you got any
data points about how much money people could save if they used a
certain technology?

  • Given the rise in gas, carbon and energy
    prices, those buildings with low energy ratings are susceptible to
    rental declines and rental underperformance.
  • Looking at it from a risk perspective, if you
    come into conflict with regulation and you’re no longer able to
    lease that building because it is not meeting the standards then
    you have an obsolete building.

[20:28] Aleksandra: What changes
in regulations have you seen in your career and how do you collect
data on it?

  • We are assessing the risks accordingly, we use
    a tool called
    CRREM which is based on real life data to help assess
    stranding risks of these assets. That then directly has an impact
    on our investment and asset management decisions.
  • Regulations will have to deal with existing
    building stock if we are to achieve net zero carbon goals.
    Therefore, some of the regulations that come in will need to
    regulate private house owners, not just commercial
    landlords.

[25:25] Simon: What do you have
to say about regulations?

  • I think we should see regulations as a part of
    life not as a negative or a risk from an investor perspective.When
    regulations are well specified and known in advance then we can
    respond accordingly.
  • In terms of collecting data on regulations, it
    is important to have people on the ground engaging with local
    bodies and the government, in order to understand how that
    regulation will impact upon your investment.

[27:20] The ‘LMRE’ part, Louisa asks the guests to talk
about; 

L – Touch on
the main 
lessons you have learnt throughout your
career.

Aleksandra: Flexibility and
being open for opportunities, if you want to be successful in your
career then being flexible and open-minded is the best
advice.

M – Please give
a
 mention to anyone / product / service.

Aleksandra: IOT solutions and
the geniuses that are coming up with them around the world are
resolving real problems and issues within real estate.

R – What has
been the most  
rewarding  aspect of working within the ESG
space?

Simon: Being a part of the
solution on the quality of affordable housing, through ESG we can
certainly make a positive difference.

E – What are
you 
excited about in the future of ESG?

Aleksandra: ESG and
sustainability as a whole is seen as added value, as something that
should be embedded throughout the business to make it
better.

 

Sponsors

Launch Your Own Podcast

A Podcast Company is the leading podcast production and strategic
content company for brands, organisations, institutions,
individuals, and entrepreneurs. Our team sets you up with the right
strategy, equipment, training, guidance and content to ensure you
sound amazing while speaking to your niche audience and networking
with your perfect clients. Get in touch
[email protected]



[ad_2]

Source link

About the author call_made

admin

More posts

Timestamp

Be the first to leave a comment

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 For anyone looking to expand their real estate horizons beyond borders, this podcast offers a treasure trove of insights from top agents around the globe. Whether you’re looking to showcase your expertise as a real estate professional or uncover the next great investment opportunity as a buyer, Global Real Estate Insider provides the expert advice and market analysis you need to make informed decisions in the global real estate arena.

International real estate platform that connects foreign buyers and investors with international property

0%

Login to enjoy full advantages

Please login or subscribe to continue.

Go Premium!

Enjoy the full advantage of the premium access.

Stop following

Unfollow Cancel

Cancel subscription

Are you sure you want to cancel your subscription? You will lose your Premium access and stored playlists.

Go back Confirm cancellation