Real estate managers struggling to understand the energy performance of their portfolios

A new report published by Deepki has found that real estate managers in Europe are facing a challenge in understanding the energy performance of their portfolios.

The study is based on research with 250 European commercial real estate asset managers in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

While the majority (80 per cent) of respondents recognise the importance of a “comprehensive ESG strategy” in managing financial risk in their organisations, one fifth (21 per cent) say their organisation lacks the expertise to assess the ESG performance of their assets and take them to net zero. Filling the expertise gap will prove instrumental in driving the sector’s energy performance and achieving its emissions reductions targets.

While three-quarters do believe their organization is investing enough to improve ESG performance, expertise is another matter. This is reflected by almost a fifth of respondents (18 per cent) saying they did not think their organisation was making suitable investment in ESG resources. The survey reveals a willingness from commercial real estate asset managers to address the expertise deficit with more than three-quarters (77 per cent) training employees to improve their ESG expertise.

Commenting on the research findings, Vincent Bryant, CEO and co-founder of Deepki, said: “Our report shows that the European commercial real estate sector is focused on improving its sustainability credentials, as well as the energy performance of assets, and formulating long-term ESG strategies to manage financial risk. However, given the scale of the climate emergency, there is a real sense of urgency for commercial real estate managers to do more to plug the gaps in expertise, and to do it quickly. Companies must turn to technological solutions in order to address these challenges in a scalable, sustainable way.

“At Deepki, our capabilities allow us to deliver two-fold positive impact at scale. First, to allow clients to spend less time collecting and analysing data, and more time taking action to obtain measurable results, and second, to help clients raise awareness, train internal resources, and acquire the most up-to-date ESG Best Practices from peers.”