Governmental regulations such as the World Green Building Council's net zero carbon targets by 2050,  the industry’s impact on the climate, and many countries gradually moving towards a 100 % circular economy, have a bearing on the built environment.

• Is the building really "smart"?
• How many electric vehicles (EV) charging poles can be installed?
• How will my asset or portfolio be affected by the upcoming sustainable finance regulations?
• Can the Green Building Certification be upgraded?
• What is the whole life carbon footprint of the building?

While smart buildings are a current buzzword in the real estate sector, the topic exposes investors to potential risks. Vendors may often claim that an asset is a smart building. Investors may find themselves grappling with questions: Is it really smart or just an ordinary building? ​If the building is not smart building ready, will it affect the future marketability? How much will it cost to make the building smart? Is the smart building concept watertight in terms of cyber security and data protection or will it make users susceptible?

YOUR ADDED VALUE

• Value for money​
• Insight into future cost of upgrades​
• Risk assessment of smart building related issues like cyber security, data protection
• Mitigation of these risks

Electric mobility is a must-have technology for developing a clean and efficient transport system. With rapid urbanisation and emergence of megacities, electric mobility provides a high level of agility and cleaner emission trail. Though in its nascent stage, e-mobility has been identified as the future mode of transport and as a building block of sustainable mobility. Therefore, the digital infrastructures of tomorrow need to be prepared to provide for these battery-operated transport systems. At Drees & Sommer, we not only support our clients in identifying such modernisation requirements but also turn new opportunities based on trends into solid asset value.​

• Assessment of available capacities and charging infrastructures on site​​
• Off-site capacities evaluation with public utility provider
• Charging facilities calculation within existing plant​
• Analysis of extension possibilities of existing plant​
• Evaluation of smart charging management solutions
• Analysis of extension possibilities with additional transformers
• Cost evaluation of upgrade measures

YOUR ADDED VALUE

• Capital expenditure for e-mobility
• Starting point of an EV charging concept

The construction industry consumes around 40 – 50% of raw-materials and at the same time is responsible for 60% of the total waste production. Not only does it have an ecological impact – it has additional cost implications, too. Circular economy is the key solution to mitigate this as it turns buildings into material banks. This means that an investment in Cradle to Cradle® (C2C) asset is an additional investment in raw materials which over the past decades have seen a constant increase.

Our C2C buildings are designed according to the circular economy principles and can be disassembled at the end of the lifetime and the materials can be sold or reused – it will have a residual value which equals the raw-material value of the building. The asset will maintain this value which further helps to decouple financial risks from the “market value” of the asset. This residual material value can reach up to 30% of the total investment and starts to be recognised by funding partners at the initial investment. Most existing buildings contain resources which can be harvested by urban mining approaches, saving costs on demolition and delivering materials for new construction. For renovation projects, this can be a game changer!

• Assessment of material reuse potential of each component​
• Assessment of material recycling potential of each component​
• Calculation of the amount (by weight) of reusable and recyclable materials and resulting waste-reduction for each component
• Estimation of the value and cost saving potential through reuse and recycling
• Overview of subsidies, tax benefits and compliance with sustainable finance​
• Assess the contribution of circular economy measures to Green Building Certification systems (e.g. for BREEAM)
• Assessment of material reuse potential of each component​
• Assessment of material recycling potential of each component​
• Calculation of the amount (by weight) of reusable and recyclable materials and resulting waste-reduction for each component
• Estimation of the value and cost saving potential through reuse and recycling
• Overview of subsidies, tax benefits and compliance with sustainable finance​
• Assess the contribution of circular economy measures to Green Building Certification Systems (e.g. for BREEAM)

YOUR ADDED VALUE

• Heads up on future reselling prospects​
• Improved Green Building Certification (BREEAM)
• Risk Assessment regarding Materials (Pollutants and Recyclability)

The World Green Building Council is supporting market transformation towards 100% net zero carbon buildings by 2050. The market has started to move towards greater carbon cuts with countries setting zero carbon targets followed by investors pledging carbon neutrality. Zero carbon strategies need to be applied to the existing building portfolio and must become a key target for new developments. Very often, only the obvious operational carbon is measured which covers only one side since 40 – 50% of carbon emissions are embodied in the materials used for building construction.

YOUR ADDED VALUE

• Initial capital expenditure for zero carbon targets​
• Benchmark to compare with the rest of the market
• Asset evaluation to check suitability with the company's corporate strategy

Environmental, Social and Governance Check (ESG) refers to the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and social impact of an investment in a company or business. Most investors have corporate ESG strategies in place which should be applied to the core business and the asset portfolio. This means that during an asset transaction, ESG criteria can be used to check whether the investment fits to the corporate ESG approach. In this context, sustainability approaches following Green Building Certification schemes (e. g. BREEAM, LEED, DGNB, WELL, HQE) can also be identified through pre-assessments to find out whether a building can receive the right certifications or which upgrades and costs would be necessary.

YOUR ADDED VALUE

• Independent evaluation regarding ESG requirements
• Information whether the asset is sustainable finance ready
• Pre-assessment of Green Building Certifications
• Roadmap with necessary upgrades and cost to achieve the desired level