The global consequences of the climate crisis make us rethink many aspects of our daily life. The challenges society has recently faced make us question our habits, redefine requirements and innovatively shape the future –in the real estate industry and beyond. Let us take a closer look at this.
In the last few years, sustainability has exceeded the status quo, and is now an integral part of current strategies for project developers, portfolio owners and investors.
Sustainable measures are successively tested and expanded – empirical values are collected. Certification systems are established. Nevertheless, there is no clear definition of what concretely makes real estate sustainable.
Today we have a wide range of innovative, sustainable implementation options: innovative mobility concepts, decentralized energy supply, energy-plus houses, urban gardening, distribution systems, smart homes, flexible uses of space, water recycling, waste disposal or community – to name just a few. Some are more effective, and some less.
In the context of advising various property developers, aoty has determined that the selection of suitable measures is a significant challenge. Without them, developers can run the risk of losing stringency in both the concept as well as the effects. It is therefore often more effective to combine targeted, effective measures than to fulfil all possible sustainability options.
The “EcoSquare” projects, the “Brucklyn” district development, and the “Frank and Frieda” and “Wagnis” eco-settlements (all in Germany) provide inspiration for this. They all take responsibility for their carbon (CO2) footprint in different ways – through individually adapted and deliberately chosen packages of measures. No one is less sustainable than the other.