BBCA joins forces with European real estate players on a new pan-European low carbon label
Aware of the key role of real estate in the fight against climate change, as the world’slargest emitter of CO2, several European players in the sector – Ivanhoe Cambridge, Covivio, BNP Paribas Real Estate, WO2, Icamap, BPI, NSI, Generali Real Estate and Struan Robertson – have joined forces to launch the first pan-European low-carbon real estate label at Mipim.
The French association BBCA, which has labelled more than 300 projects totalling more than 2 million sqm in France since 2016, will provide technical support for the initiative. The latter will aim to promote the reduction of the carbon footprint of buildings over their entire life cycle, explains Stanislas Pottier, Senior Advisor to Amundi’s General Management and President of the association: “BBCA aims to truly account for carbon emissions in the building sector, from construction to heavy renovation, including operation and end of life. A group of investors and developers have decided to join forces to bring this issue to the European level, using the expertise of our association to build a label adapted to the European markets and not only to the French context, with the aim of labelling projects by the end of the year.
A scientific committee, co-chaired by Artelia and Elioth by Egis, is expected to develop a European methodology for reducing the carbon footprint of buildings by the summer of 2022, initially targeting offices, residential assets and hotels. In the building sector, the authorities, as well as developers and builders, have often used energy efficiency as an environmental indicator,” adds Stanislas Pottier. However, while energy efficiency in the operation of a building is an important element, it does not measure its impact on the climate. More importantly, we must also measure the construction methods, the materials used during construction, the evolution and modularity of spaces and the intensity of occupation with different possible uses.
As a sign of the continental ambition of the approach, the founding members of this initiative are established in many European countries: BPI in Luxembourg, Belgium and Poland, NSI in the Netherlands, WO2 and Icamap in Luxembourg, France and the UK. Generali Real Estate, BNP Paribas Real Estate as well as Covivio and Ivanhoe Cambridge have several European locations. “Our aim is to encourage European players to take the same approach, since a building’s carbon footprint can be halved if done properly, so that they can take this initiative to the continent’s most important markets and to Brussels, with the standardisation players”, says Stanislas Pottier.
“We are proud to support this European initiative, which represents a major step towards decarbonizing the real estate sector”, said Stéphane Villemain, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Ivanhoe Cambridge. There is a need to better address the emissions levels of buildings throughout their life cycle, including during construction. This initiative represents a real opportunity to expand low-carbon practices in our sector and position our portfolio favourably over the long term.
Christophe Kullmann, Covivio’s CEO, added: “Aware of its impact on the environment and its role in the ecological transition, the sector is once again demonstrating its ability to unite on key issues. In line with its long-standing strategy on these issues, Covivio is delighted to join this pan-European initiative mobilising partners with different profiles. This diversity is a real asset for the creation of this standard and thus to face the climate and energy challenges that we all have to face together.”
