FOCUS CORPORATE REAL ESTATE
Executive Director, Good Growth, Greater
London Authority held a lively debate
on how the capital can continue to lead
on decarbonisation by embracing the
transformation and repurposing of buildings
and places for energy reduction and
embodied carbon retention alongside urban
regeneration.
Blennerhassett said: “Eighty per cent of the
buildings that are with us now will still be with
us in 2050. There’s an opportunity to retrofit
these buildings for lower net zero carbon. The
embodied carbon in those buildings is a huge
benefit. If you can reuse the structure and
reuse as much of the building as you can, a
massive carbon saving will be had.”
For London to continue leading the way
in decarbonisation, the panel agreed that
organisations must tackle data transparency.
Dean said: “We do not know how much energy
is used in all of our buildings where our
occupiers are procuring energy themselves.
We cannot always access that information. It’s
incredibly administratively burdensome to
do so. The occupiers are not always inclined
to share it with us. And even if they are, we
can’t always get it easily through the utility
companies.”
CONCLUSION
It was promising that ESG formed the spine
of MIPIM 2022. Additionally, the conference
tackled diversity across the industry. There
has clearly been a step change evidenced by
an overwhelming belief at MIPIM that COVID
forced corporations to step back and focus on
their priorities, personally and collectively.
As Dean said: “ESG has gone from being a
nice to have to something people really want
to see. Any real estate investment activity
38 APRIL 2022
is sure to have an ESG focus and clear
decarbonisation plan. It is driving strategy
forward.”
With one delegate describing the MIPIM
of old as ‘male, pale, and stale’, it was
refreshing to note that many panels
featured women with diversity top of the
agenda. Freehold, a networking forum
for LGBTQ+ professionals working within
the real estate sector, and Women in
Property were all there, with events on the
calendar. The Gend-Her networking event
returned, bearing more significance than
ever. It featured an inspiring speech from
award-winning author Michelle King and
Wendy Mann, CEO of CREW Network. This
interactive session explored how gender
balance in the real estate industry can boost
creativity and economic growth.
The “diversity” conversation has moved
on from representation and a box-ticking
exercise to an understanding that more
diverse voices are needed. However,
the famous Café Roma and other local
restaurants spilled out with crowds which
were noticeably largely made up of men onto
the cobbled streets throughout the event.
According to the Global Real Estate DEI
survey, 43 per cent of real estate companies
in Europe employ a professional dedicated
to ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’. As real
estate moves towards a more human-centric
business model and the lines between the
real estate professional and the property’s
communities, it is evident that diversity and
inclusion is a topic that must spearhead the
agenda in 2023.
ESG, wellbeing, and diversity were the
key themes at MIPIM 2022. It’s heartening
to think that, as challenging as the past
two years have been for all industries,
many people have used this period as an
opportunity to analyse what’s important to
them personally and professionally.
The WELL Building Institute’s Stephen
Brown prudently added that health and
wellbeing are two huge metrics around social
human capital. “If we can’t get our own
wellbeing in line, we are going to be very
unproductive,” he said. Brown admitted that
he talks regularly to chief medical o icers,
chief wellbeing o icers, chief sustainability
o icers and anybody involved in ESG
reporting about mental health. That is a huge
step forward.
However, words must lead to action.
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