MIPIM is kicking off on a green note: leading real estate players are launching the first pan-European certification label for low-carbon assets at the international property event starting today in Cannes.

The initiative aims to promote a reduction in the carbon footprint of buildings throughout their life cycle and thereby contribute to the fight against global warming.

The founding members of the Low Carbon Building Initiative include Struan Robertson, chairman of EMEA Real Estate, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Europe-wide companies like Generali Real Estate, Ivanhoé Cambridge, Covivio and BNP Paribas Real Estate as well as BPI from Luxembourg, Belgium and Poland, NSI from the Netherlands, WO2 and ICAMAP from Luxembourg, France and the UK.

“Aware of its impact on the environment and its role in the ecological transition, the real estate industry is demonstrating its ability to come together in the face of a structural challenge”, said Christophe Kullmann, CEO, Covivio. “This pan-European initiative includes partners with different profiles and this diversity is a real asset in creating this standard and in tackling the climate and energy challenges we all face together”.

A scientific commission has been established to ensure an objective assessment by experts in decarbonisation strategies for real estate. The European methodology will be developed by the summer, with a goal to assign the first labels to the best residential, office and hotel buildings by the end of this year.

“We are proud to work alongside key European market players and to be a founding partner of this important initiative”, said Olivier Terrenoire, Global Head of Asset Management, Property Management and Sustainable Investing, Generali Real Estate. “We are tackling one of the most important issues for our industry and creating further synergies on this demanding path”.

The French association BBCA will provide the necessary technical support and expertise for the initiative, as it has been a pioneer in this field, awarding its own label to around 300 projects in France since 2016 and contributing to the implementation of new environmental regulations for new-builds in France.

“If we want to reach net zero by 2050 we have to do everything right in terms of CO2 emissions over the next 15 years and to do that we need to change practices over the next two to three years”,  said Stanislas Pottier, President, BBCA and Senior Advisor to the General Management, Amundi. “This means we need to create a real carbon accounting and analysis framework for buildings, cities and portfolios, so BBCA is pleased to support this European low-carbon building initiative”.

In its work over the last six years BBCA has found that implementing carbon reduction best practice techniques can reduce a building’s footprint by 30 to 50%.