MIPIM 2023 Digital Edition

Investing in Austria
Real Circle
#30
Orientation Guide
or Advertising Gag?
Certifications & Co. At the 30th Real Circle, hosted by ERSTE BANK, ERSTE Immobilien KAG, IMMOunited,
PwC and ImmoFokus, the agenda included a topic currently the subject of lively discussions in the real estate
industry: Certifications.
Authors: Patrick Baldia, Gerhard Fritz, Lisa Grüner, Rudolf Oezelt und Heimo Rollett
D
o we really need them? If we
do, which ones are suitable
for whom? Do they have any
influence on the valuation of
real estate? How meaningful are they at the
end of the day? And: do they protect against
greenwashing? We are talking about certifications
that document the ecological, social
and economic quality of buildings. There are
now countless of them. However, it‘s not just
the different distribution and inconsistent
standards of the various certification systems
that raise questions. It is their significance in
times of new developments on the regulatory
side – namely, the EU taxonomy. There was
plenty to talk about for the selected real estate
professionals who attended the event in the
Winter Garden of the Erste Campus at the end
of February.
Certifications are important
„Building certifications play an important
role, on the one hand, for society, on the
other hand, to achieve the goals of the EU
taxonomy, to collect and assess data and to
generally improve the planning process,“ states
Elisabeth Sardy-Rauter, Senior Manager
in the Construction & Real Estate division
at Ernst & Young in Group A, at the start of
the summit. Michael Herbek, Head of Project
Development at BUWOG, notes that in the
past, certifications were not so relevant for
real estate developers, but they were for the
investors and the global exit. „Especially in
commercial real estate, certifications are a
must, but we also observe this development
in residential construction. In the future,
certifiers will have to deliver an offer to be
able to handle the whole range correctly and
transparently for the developer,“ Herbek
says. „The ideal would be a certificate that
can make a statement in several directions,
i.e., for different stakeholders, e.g., the developer,
the investor and the end customer/user
(tenant/buyer) because the latter are also
increasingly asking for sustainable quality
features.“
Markus Huber, Managing Director of CC Real
Project Management, questions the relevance
of certificates. „I am divided on this issue,
CC Real is a portfolio holder with its own
properties, and I am an ÖGNI auditor and an
EU Taxonomy Advisor. The topic is becoming
increasingly relevant among our owners and
customers. Also, the question of investing for
„S“ in ESG can be discussed with owners now;
in the past, the additional equipment in the
bike room was already a problem. Wien Mitte
and Millennium City were recently awarded
a DGNB Platinum certificate. It shows that
although owners have already received a
good rating, they are still interested in further
improvements. When applying for financing,
the first question is which certificate to aim
for and to what extent the building meets the
EU taxonomy. In the case of new buildings,
the verification is easier; in old or existing
buildings, the biggest problem is the lack of
building data.“
Data and links
Anna-Vera Deinhammer, responsible for
International Relations and Municipalities at
ÖGNI agrees and adds, „We have been aware
28 ImmoFokus