Climate change can be an opportunity and not just a threat for the real estate sector if companies embrace the challenge, experts said at the ‘Risk to resilience: real estate responses to climate change’, organised by the Urban Land Institute at Expo Real.
'By selecting the right assets and managing them well, the real estate sector can attract capital from investors who are divesting from the equities market,' said Jon Lovell, director of Hillbreak and chair of the ULI UK Sustainability Council.
'Real estate companies and funds that position themselves well can really be net beneficiaries.' Concrete action is possible, said Tinka Kleine, senior investment analyst at PGGM. The company has a goal of a 50% emissions reduction in five years, which 'is an achievable target, considering that for example in the UK we have already achieved a 70% reduction.'
