ESG Proptech Trends For A Sustainable Future In Real Estate - Forbes | Canada News Media
Connect with us

Real eState

ESG Proptech Trends For A Sustainable Future In Real Estate – Forbes

Published

 on


One side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic was that it forced us, as a global community, to once and for all come to terms with the fact that we are inextricably interconnected on a massive scale. Local actions can have global adverse reactions, tail risks are not as remote as we think, and the world we live in is much more fragile than we thought. The climate crisis that had temporarily taken second place during lockdown is once again front and center on the private and public agenda, as we experience more and more of its negative impact. According to the UN, global temperatures will inevitably increase by 1.5 degrees by 2030, but we are still in time to avoid a catastrophic 3 degree increase if we rapidly reduce global emissions on the broadest scale possible.

 Against this backdrop, it is unsurprising that built environment stakeholders – it is responsible for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide – have definitively woken up to the importance of ESGs. This is having a positive effect on tech deployment within the industry. I discussed why this is the case with Jake Fingert, managing partner at proptech VC Camber Creek, which is investing significantly into ESG tech.

According to Fingert, there are three main driving forces behind the ESG narrative in real estate.

Financial investors are more and more interested in sustainability and carbon footprints. Long-term investors such as pension funds view their investments through a 30-plus year lens and to them it is a no-brainer: if we don’t take care of the planet, this will have an adverse effect on their long-term investments, as climate change does massive damage to the global economy. When these large investors focus on a problem, real estate owners and operators have a strong incentive to focus as well.

On the other side of the equation, corporate tenants and residents care about the environment and climate change much more than they did in the past. Consumers increasingly want to be in a building that is certified carbon neutral, they want to work for companies that care about the environment. As this segment of stakeholders grows, it drives change.

Finally, governments have a massive impact on ESG adoption. In the US, for example, local law 97 in New York mandates CO2 emissions reductions, and at the federal level there is a lot of talk around federal legislation on climate. In Europe, access to the circa €750 billion in Recovery Fund monies hinges on countries’ abilities to reach a 55% emissions reduction target by 2030, and the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Government measures globally will be carrots (and sticks) to encourage real estate owners and operators to improve on ESG measures.

These three measures are creating pressures on the market, pushing real estate owners and operators to take sustainability seriously and act on it. As Fingert puts it, “ten years ago, some companies were leading on the sustainability front because their principals were doing it for altruistic reasons. Today, real forces are coming into play, putting pressures beyond these reasons.”

Fingert went on to share that Camber Creek is particularly excited about the ESG tech space, and has been investing in it for over four years.

He reckons that the first step on the path to ESG excellence is to be able to accurately track and report carbon waste and energy usage. In order to make changes, you first need to measure what is actually happening. According to Fingert, Measurabl (an ESG tech platform for real estate) is the global leader in this space, and this is why Camber Creek first invested in them four years ago and followed through in their recent $50 million Series C round.

The next problem to solve, once you’ve identified and started to measure ESG underperformance, is what to actually do. There are a number of targeted solutions on the market to help companies improve their footprint. One example Fingert gave is Arcadia (a US tech company unlocking nationwide access to energy data and renewables) whose platform helps people access community solar power; Camber Creek recently invested into their $100 million Series D round, alongside Tiger Global. Tiger’s investment highlights another growing trend – the increasing interest that generalist investors have in the ESG tech space.

In general, technology will drive efficiency and help reduce consumption across the built environment. A broad variety of tools is on offer, from sensors on HVAC systems to tools to measure indoor air quality and purify it. As the pool of targeted tools expands, their value-add will improve.

Another thing Fingert has a keen interest in is carbon capture in construction. There is an array of solutions on the market, such as those provided by Exxon, 1PointFive, and Carbfix. The application of these technologies in construction is still in its early stages, but Fingert reckons it is a space to watch, as on the one hand significant funds are flowing info massive infrastructure projects for which there is an urgent need, and on the other hand sustainability has become a crucial requirement. The answer isn’t to avoid building, but to build sustainably, and as legislation for cleaner construction comes into play there will be a flurry of activity in this space.

On a more blue-sky horizon, Fingert finds drone technology to be very interesting in an ESG context. As use cases become more sophisticated, it can meaningfully reduce miles driven on roads for activities such as package deliveries. They will also be used in specific cases such as cleaning windows on skyscrapers or fixing roofs, and as these use cases become more mature, they will do a lot to reduce emissions.

In the long run, ESGs will become instrumental in building and managing cities that run more efficiently. Sustainably is and will remain a core value for businesses and society, there is no turning back.

Adblock test (Why?)



Source link

Continue Reading

Real eState

Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

Published

 on

 

Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Real eState

B.C. voters face atmospheric river with heavy rain, high winds on election day

Published

 on

 

VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.

Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.

The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.

Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.

More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.

Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.

An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

News

No shortage when it comes to B.C. housing policies, as Eby, Rustad offer clear choice

Published

 on

 

British Columbia voters face no shortage of policies when it comes to tackling the province’s housing woes in the run-up to Saturday’s election, with a clear choice for the next government’s approach.

David Eby’s New Democrats say the housing market on its own will not deliver the homes people need, while B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad saysgovernment is part of the problem and B.C. needs to “unleash” the potential of the private sector.

But Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, said the “punchline” was that neither would have a hand in regulating interest rates, the “giant X-factor” in housing affordability.

“The one policy that controls it all just happens to be a policy that the province, whoever wins, has absolutely no control over,” said Yan, who made a name for himself scrutinizing B.C.’s chronic affordability problems.

Some metrics have shown those problems easing, with Eby pointing to what he said was a seven per cent drop in rent prices in Vancouver.

But Statistics Canada says 2021 census data shows that 25.5 per cent of B.C. households were paying at least 30 per cent of their income on shelter costs, the worst for any province or territory.

Yan said government had “access to a few levers” aimed at boosting housing affordability, and Eby has been pulling several.

Yet a host of other factors are at play, rates in particular, Yan said.

“This is what makes housing so frustrating, right? It takes time. It takes decades through which solutions and policies play out,” Yan said.

Rustad, meanwhile, is running on a “deregulation” platform.

He has pledged to scrap key NDP housing initiatives, including the speculation and vacancy tax, restrictions on short-term rentals,and legislation aimed at boosting small-scale density in single-family neighbourhoods.

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau, meanwhile, says “commodification” of housing by large investors is a major factor driving up costs, and her party would prioritize people most vulnerable in the housing market.

Yan said it was too soon to fully assess the impact of the NDP government’s housing measures, but there was a risk housing challenges could get worse if certain safeguards were removed, such as policies that preserve existing rental homes.

If interest rates were to drop, spurring a surge of redevelopment, Yan said the new homes with higher rents could wipe the older, cheaper units off the map.

“There is this element of change and redevelopment that needs to occur as a city grows, yet the loss of that stock is part of really, the ongoing challenges,” Yan said.

Given the external forces buffeting the housing market, Yan said the question before voters this month was more about “narrative” than numbers.

“Who do you believe will deliver a better tomorrow?”

Yan said the market has limits, and governments play an important role in providing safeguards for those most vulnerable.

The market “won’t by itself deal with their housing needs,” Yan said, especially given what he described as B.C.’s “30-year deficit of non-market housing.”

IS HOUSING THE ‘GOVERNMENT’S JOB’?

Craig Jones, associate director of the Housing Research Collaborative at the University of British Columbia, echoed Yan, saying people are in “housing distress” and in urgent need of help in the form of social or non-market housing.

“The amount of housing that it’s going to take through straight-up supply to arrive at affordability, it’s more than the system can actually produce,” he said.

Among the three leaders, Yan said it was Furstenau who had focused on the role of the “financialization” of housing, or large investors using housing for profit.

“It really squeezes renters,” he said of the trend. “It captures those units that would ordinarily become affordable and moves (them) into an investment product.”

The Greens’ platform includes a pledge to advocate for federal legislation banning the sale of residential units toreal estate investment trusts, known as REITs.

The party has also proposed a two per cent tax on homes valued at $3 million or higher, while committing $1.5 billion to build 26,000 non-market units each year.

Eby’s NDP government has enacted a suite of policies aimed at speeding up the development and availability of middle-income housing and affordable rentals.

They include the Rental Protection Fund, which Jones described as a “cutting-edge” policy. The $500-million fund enables non-profit organizations to purchase and manage existing rental buildings with the goal of preserving their affordability.

Another flagship NDP housing initiative, dubbed BC Builds, uses $2 billion in government financingto offer low-interest loans for the development of rental buildings on low-cost, underutilized land. Under the program, operators must offer at least 20 per cent of their units at 20 per cent below the market value.

Ravi Kahlon, the NDP candidate for Delta North who serves as Eby’s housing minister,said BC Builds was designed to navigate “huge headwinds” in housing development, including high interest rates, global inflation and the cost of land.

Boosting supply is one piece of the larger housing puzzle, Kahlon said in an interview before the start of the election campaign.

“We also need governments to invest and … come up with innovative programs to be able to get more affordability than the market can deliver,” he said.

The NDP is also pledging to help more middle-class, first-time buyers into the housing market with a plan to finance 40 per cent of the price on certain projects, with the money repayable as a loan and carrying an interest rate of 1.5 per cent. The government’s contribution would have to be repaid upon resale, plus 40 per cent of any increase in value.

The Canadian Press reached out several times requesting a housing-focused interview with Rustad or another Conservative representative, but received no followup.

At a press conference officially launching the Conservatives’ campaign, Rustad said Eby “seems to think that (housing) is government’s job.”

A key element of the Conservatives’ housing plans is a provincial tax exemption dubbed the “Rustad Rebate.” It would start in 2026 with residents able to deduct up to $1,500 per month for rent and mortgage costs, increasing to $3,000 in 2029.

Rustad also wants Ottawa to reintroduce a 1970s federal program that offered tax incentives to spur multi-unit residential building construction.

“It’s critical to bring that back and get the rental stock that we need built,” Rustad said of the so-called MURB program during the recent televised leaders’ debate.

Rustad also wants to axe B.C.’s speculation and vacancy tax, which Eby says has added 20,000 units to the long-term rental market, and repeal rules restricting short-term rentals on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo to an operator’s principal residence or one secondary suite.

“(First) of all it was foreigners, and then it was speculators, and then it was vacant properties, and then it was Airbnbs, instead of pointing at the real problem, which is government, and government is getting in the way,” Rustad said during the televised leaders’ debate.

Rustad has also promised to speed up approvals for rezoning and development applications, and to step in if a city fails to meet the six-month target.

Eby’s approach to clearing zoning and regulatory hurdles includes legislation passed last fall that requires municipalities with more than 5,000 residents to allow small-scale, multi-unit housing on lots previously zoned for single family homes.

The New Democrats have also recently announced a series of free, standardized building designs and a plan to fast-track prefabricated homes in the province.

A statement from B.C.’s Housing Ministry said more than 90 per cent of 188 local governments had adopted the New Democrats’ small-scale, multi-unit housing legislation as of last month, while 21 had received extensions allowing more time.

Rustad has pledged to repeal that law too, describing Eby’s approach as “authoritarian.”

The Greens are meanwhile pledging to spend $650 million in annual infrastructure funding for communities, increase subsidies for elderly renters, and bring in vacancy control measures to prevent landlords from drastically raising rents for new tenants.

Yan likened the Oct. 19 election to a “referendum about the course that David Eby has set” for housing, with Rustad “offering a completely different direction.”

Regardless of which party and leader emerges victorious, Yan said B.C.’s next government will be working against the clock, as well as cost pressures.

Yan said failing to deliver affordable homes for everyone, particularly people living on B.C. streets and young, working families, came at a cost to the whole province.

“It diminishes us as a society, but then also as an economy.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version