1st RICS Poland ESG leader's forum

On Monday, September 18, 2023, the first meeting of the RICS ESG working group took place in Warsaw.

The meeting was attended by over 30 professionals from the real estate industry, including valuers, representatives of banks, property managers and portfolio owners, tenants of office space or representatives of real estate funds and developers as well as ESG specialists.

Four presentations were covered at the meeting.

• Aleksandra Jach Wolf Theiss

ESG Regulation Overview: Navigating the Sustainable Future

Discover the latest insights into ESG regulations and how they are shaping the future of sustainability in the built environment.

• Agnieszka Kosycarz-Pasternak - BGK (Bank)

ESG from the Perspective of a Financial Institution

Learn about the vital role financial institutions play in driving ESG initiatives and the implications for sustainable investments.

• Adam Targowski MRICS, CTP

ESG in Practice - Case Study

Delve into a compelling case study that showcases real-world implementation of ESG principles, exploring challenges, successes, and lessons learned.

• Hubert Abt FRICS, CEO & Founder of workcloud24

ESG and PropTech

What are the latest developments in the tech world and what role does AI play in the future to achieve ESG Compliance.

The roundtable discussion was moderated by Seweryna Afanasjew MRICS, Lead of the Sustainability working Group of RICS in Poland.

The group discussed some of the biggest challenges related to the implementation of European Union sustainable regulations in real estate in accordance with the requirements of the Green Deal of Paris 2015 and subsequent regulations.

Challenges identified include:

• How to measure ESG impact on asset value
• Impact on financing conditions related to ESG checklist
• How to become net zero building when majority of offices is heated through central heating based on fossil fuels
• How to introduce cPPA when owners want to sign contract for energy purchase only for 1 year?
• How to minimise cost of service charge when you need to spend more on ESG related activities?
• Will ESG investment bring higher value of the asset? Higher rents? Will tenants be willing to pay more?
• When will tenants be willing to cover partially of ESG capex to achieve lower operational costs on one hand but on the other simply ESG higher rating for the building
• Are investors ready to pay more for net zero buildings?
• ROI on ESG capex vs rent level?

4 working groups have been created, whose leaders will work on identifying challenges and proposition of solutions linked to sustainable development regulations in Poland.

We are going to work across sectors to help get out of internal corporate silos and develop practical approach guidelines for action

The four working groups will be focusing on:

1. VALUATION/INVESTMENT/FINANCING             
2. TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS TO ENABLE PATHWAY TO NET ZERO BUILDING         
3. LEGAL/TAX/ENERGY – cPPA contracts
4. OPERATIONAL COST VS CAPEX INVESTMENT/TENANT/LL/BANK/INVESTOR"

The next meeting is scheduled to take place in October. We will discuss the most important issues from each of the working groups, as well as listen to presentations on energy storage and the use of hydrogen on the real estate market in the coming years

Contacts:

Seweryna Afanasjew MRICS

Anna Orcsik, RICS