Climate Change Considerations in Real Estate (GRI)

https://www.griclub.org/news/real-estate/climate-change-considerations-in-real-estate_1341.html

ESG implementation in real estate strategies, throughout 2019, emerged as a new trend with LPs switching their focus towards impact & sustainable investments, which resulted in 2020 starting off with the largest investment volume for real estate impact investment strategies to date. But with the pandemic outbreak, tenants are increasingly concerned with the impact of buildings on their wellbeing, while investors are trying to minimise risk exposure to climate change related issues, such as fires, droughts and floods, through impact and socially responsible investments.

This GRI Report will discuss the immediate impact of Climate Change and associated risks for real estate and capital markets, as well as related ESG and wellbeing strategies from the point of view of GRI Club members and the IWBI during the “Wellbeing Impacts on Real Estate” and “Climate Change – Must one change investment strategies too?” GRI eMeeting. It will also explore the challenges and opportunities investors, lenders and developers will face when adapting these strategies.

Author: Christopher K. Merker, Ph.D., CFA

Christopher K. Merker, PhD, CFA, is a director with Private Asset Management at Robert W. Baird & Co. He holds a PhD in investment governance and fiduciary effectiveness from Marquette University, where he has taught the course “Sustainable Finance” since 2009. Executive director of Fund Governance Analytics (FGA), an ESG research partnership with Marquette University, he is a member of the CFA Institute ESG Working Group, an international committee currently exploring ESG standards, publishes the blog, Sustainable Finance, which covers current topics around governance and sustainability in investing, and is co-author of the book, The Trustee Governance Guide: The Five Imperatives of 21st Century Investing.