Commercial property without carbon emission reduction plans will soon decrease in value – report

16th September 2021

By: Simone Liedtke

Creamer Media Social Media Editor & Senior Writer

     

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Commercial property without plans to slash carbon emissions will soon plummet in value, warns new real estate stock exchange IPSX and sustainability data and consulting firm Carbon Intelligence in a joint report on net-zero initiatives for UK commercial property market valuations.

Its findings factor in UK government commitments to a 78% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2035 and increasingly stringent energy-efficiency standards.

Carbon Intelligence real estate commercial director Oliver Light says that by not investing capital expenditure (capex) now into a long-term net-zero strategy, not only will building owners miss out on the short-term advantages associated with a building that drives high tenant demand, owing to minimal energy costs, prestige, and environment, social and governance (ESG) credentials, but they "will also have to invest the same or more to deal with obsolescence as a result of noncompliance, voids and capital deprecation of the building".

Separate research from investment management services provider Fidelity International found that 97% of commercial real estate in Europe cannot currently support a net-zero transition.

"Today's liquidity conditions mean valuations do not yet reflect the stark difference between buildings that are ready to support the low-carbon transition and those that are not," said the Fidelity report.

"That won't last forever, and owners who delay investment in retrofitting could come to regret it."

Digital Twin market leader Cityzenith is helping building owners get to net-zero with its SmartWorldOS software platform. Digital Twin aggregates massive amounts of data, enabling powerful building analytics at unprecedented scale.

"The next decade is pivotal to the future of the built environment in cities. Using SmartWorldOS, our advanced Digital Twin platform, building owners can reduce emissions to zero while increasing real estate asset value. We plan to demonstrate this as part of our 'Clean Cities – Clean Future' (CCCF) campaign while decarbonising urban areas worldwide,” Cityzenith CEO Michael Jansen says.

CCCF will be used to sponsor urban Digital Twin implementations in up to about 15 major cities, helping commercial building owners dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

New York City's Brooklyn Navy Yard was the first to join the initiative, with Phoenix, Arizona, expected to follow next, along with many other cities.

"In each city, five to ten major building owners will leverage Cityzenith's ground-breaking technology to determine an optimal smart building and financial strategy to achieve net-zero emissions. The projects will track cuts in energy costs and emissions, productivity gains, and property values."

Cityzenith aims to complete each project within nine months. Other project participants include city government agencies, universities, architects and planners.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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