Good reasons for more sustainability

Some investors will shake their heads, thinking, “How am I supposed to pay for that?” This is a valid question, and good intentions alone do not go far if the profitability falls by the wayside.

On the other hand, the climate change, if it cannot be stopped, will in no way go by without lasting effect on the economic development. CEOs from ten multinational corporations in the USA have not approached President George Bush to push him to sign a binding contract to limit CO2 emissions out of pure idealism alone. It is not just big politics and the world economy. There are other good reasons for investors to deal more intensely with the topic of sustainability.

Across the EU, energy passes for buildings are being implemented. In Germany, for example, all owners of residential real estate built by the end of 1965/starting 1966 will be required to provide information about the energy consumption of the respective building with such a pass starting January 1/July 1, 2008. Starting on January 1, 2009, this will be required of all nonresidential buildings too. That clearly leads to more transparency. In addition, there will be many tenants who will calculate, considering the ever-increasing cost of energy, whether it is less expensive to pay more rent in the mid- to long-term, but therefore, save significantly in utility costs. In other words, existing buildings, with still a high level of energy consumption, will become increasingly difficult to lease, and thus, more difficult to sell. They will also lose value significantly. Therefore, investors will not be able to get around dealing with the energy consumption of their “assets”, to assess this critically, and to find out how – for purely economic reasons – to keep this real estate attractive. In short: they will have to find out how to change with the changing needs.

Green buildings: more than just “passive houses”

From a German perspective, sustainability tends to be seen from a pure energy perspective. The discussion and development of the passive house standard contributed to this, and the energy pass for buildings puts the focus on this aspect again. However, one should not refer to a “green building”; in the Anglo-Saxon regions, this term means much more. A “green building” includes the entire spectrum of how a building can be built in a sustainable way from an ecological perspective. This includes the country’s land consumption, sealing up the surrounding spaces with parking spaces, managing rainwater, consumption of drinking water, use of renewable raw materials for construction and outfitting, and the creation of a room climate that should be free from emissions and promote the well-being and health of the users. It also includes the issue of traffic: the accessibility of public transport, as well as waste and waste disposal. Last but not least, it includes the question of how to create biotopes, such as by developing green spaces – also on rooftops – to keep and preserve biodiversity. In other words, a “green building” includes the entire spectrum of how a building can be built in a sustainable way.