Future proof real estate companies through sustainable development of institutional building stocks – Basics and tools

The stakeholders and companies in the real estate industry are facing new challenges. They must react to megatrends such as climate change, resource depletion, shift in social values, demographic change and digitalization and at the same time comply with their responsibility to society and environment. In order to contribute to sustainable development and thereby ensure the future viability of the company, it is necessary to consider the social, environmental and economic impact of any business activities and decisions. Referring to the German market, a discussion will be based on the example of housing companies to show how sustainability aspects can be integrated into the instrument of portfolio analysis. The interactions between sustainability aspects resulting of the external business environment, the respective location characteristics, the building performance and the rentability and marketability as a success factor will be discussed. In this context, it will be explained how to react dynamically to a changing environment by using adaptable weighting factors and to local location and market requirements. As a conclusion, it will be discussed how the concerns of society, the cities (housing districts) and the tenants can be taken into account in addition to the economic interests of the housing companies.