Advantage sustainability

The investment in a certification does not usually affect the value. Even if many measures, especially those aimed at energy reduction, pay off in the long run, short-term financial advantages can provide good incentives. Currently, structural measures are mainly promoted within the framework of KfW loans. It would also make sense to start with the land transfer tax. However, since this is a matter for the federal states and one of their few sources of income, the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier, at the ZIA New Year's Talk of the Associations 2021, also saw little chance for that.5

A more general concept, which will, however, also have a major effect on the real estate industry, is the recommendation of the expert commission "Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures" (TCFD) of the G20 states6, according to which companies and investors must examine how certain climate scenarios affect business and investment success. The basis will be a standard climate reporting system. The aim is to enable companies and investors to quantify the financial impact of climate change on their business model and to strengthen the resilience of their business. Companies such as LEG Immobilien7 and Deutsche Wohnen8 are already starting to report according to TCFD.

Based on this, the European Commission announced in its "Action Plan: Financing Sustainable Growth" that it would incorporate the TCFD recommendations into a revised version of the CSR Directive. The European Commission has adopted the 7th Directive on the extension of reporting by large capital market-oriented companies like, banks, financial service providers and insurance companies (the so-called CSR Directive).9 The aim of the directive is in particular to increase the transparency of environmental and social aspects of companies in the EU. This is being done as part of the development of the European Green Deal, an EU-wide climate protection law with the goal of achieving climate neutrality in the EU by 2050. The German government is also initiating a Sustainable Finance Strategy.10

In view of the advancing climate change, the players in the real estate industry must position themselves towards the future and gear their investments towards sustainability. Capital market-oriented concepts help to initiate change on a larger scale. There is a danger in small-scale regulations that they do not go far enough and hinder innovation. However, we should remain open to future concepts, materials and construction methods.