Background

Background

Achieving a Climate Neutral Future

The economy did not pay much attention to the issue of sustainability in the first years after Gro Harlem Brundlandt’s report was published by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development under the title «Our Common Future» in 1987. Nor particularly after the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. A lack of understanding, inadequate regulatory conditions, as well as a lack of demand were just some of the many reasons. Appropriate responses were hard to come by. Now, some 30 years later, an awareness for sustainable real estate has finally been established.

Despite this greater level of awareness – for example, through the introduction of a wide variety of sustainability certifications – there is still great uncertainty about the exact definition of sustainable real estate. For Thomas Lützkendorf and David Lorenz, a sustainable property should be a building that contributes to sustainable development through its features and characteristics. By safeguarding and maximising functionality and operability, as well as aesthetic quality, it should positively contribute to the following aspects:

  • Minimisation of life cycle costs
  • Protection and/or enhancement of capital values
  • Reduction of land use, raw materials and resource exploitation
  • Reduction of our environmental footprint
  • Protection of the health, comfort and safety of employees, occupants, users, visitors, and neighbours
  • Preservation of cultural values and heritage

Small Picture

The concept of sustainable development is a component which encompasses the conservation of natural resources as well as a social and economic balance within not just one society, but also between different regions throughout the entire world. Hence, our ability to develop in terms of education and economic scope, is a further component focusing on the future. For your property, this means, that the previously outlined conditions for a sustainable development must be taken into consideration and implemented.

Ecological Dimension

Economic Dimension

Sociocultural Dimension

Advantages of sustainable Real Estate

Big Picture

Extreme weather conditions such as heat waves, droughts, heavy rainfall, floods and landslides are occurring with increasing frequency around the world. Rapidly changing climatic conditions additionally cause: increased acidity in oceans, rising sea levels and a significant reduction of our biodiversity.

Climate Change

Environmental Systems

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Five Paths

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Smart Metering

The innovative controls for the automation of your building: Smart meters (intelligent meters) ensure the automatic collection of energy data and assist in the optimisation of operations. With the right product, you can also control your entire building automation system and increase the users' awareness of their resource consumption. Smart meters are therefore another effective way for managing and reducing your CO2 emissions.

Energy Data Management

The path to climate neutrality with the use of accurate figures: An all-encompassing collection of energy data is the foundation for creating your CO2 balance. It provides the transparency you require with regard to energy costs and consumption and their associated CO2 emissions. We can support you in developing hands-on strategies, to obtain valuable data on the CO2 emissions of your buildings for your sustainability management and reporting.

Ecological Dimension

The aim is to reduce emissions of pollutants in real estate – especially those of CO2 emissions. In line with the general requirements of sustainability, the total energy demand during the life cycle is to be reduced. This involves minimising the use of non-renewable primary energy while, at the same time, maximising the use of renewable energy. The ecological dimension ensures that the environment around the property is protected and that negative impacts are reduced or eliminated altogether, using a circular economy approach. The waste produced by real estate is reduced and the materials used are more environmentally friendly and recyclable.

Economic Dimension

The economic dimension looks at minimising life cycle costs of real estates, such as reducing costs for conversions and maintenance investments, in comparison to new constructions. There is also enormous potential for streamlining energy costs, especially with regard to supplying chain securities as well as CO2 taxes on fossil fuels. In total, approximately 80 % of all life cycle costs of properties are incurred during operation, resulting in an enormous potential for savings in many buildings. Another factor influencing economic sustainability is the value stability of a property. Due to an increasing demand for sustainable real estate on the market, significant competitive advantages arise for certified, sustainable properties. And this means higher average yields, increased value, and a lower vacancy rate, compared to non-certified properties. - And this means higher average yields, increased value, and lower vacancy rates, compared to non-certified properties.

Sociocultural Dimension

We look at the comfort that the property provides for the people working or living in it. Thermal, acoustic and visual factors, communication possibilities and space efficiency are of great importance. They have a significant influence on aspects such as general quality of life, health, personal satisfaction as well as productivity. Other important aspects are accessibility, traffic connections and the integration of a property into a land- or cityscape.

Advantages of Sustainable Real Estate

In contrast to conventional properties, sustainable properties offer many benefits, not just for the environment, but also for their users/owners, as they reduce overall energy consumption and increase the share of renewable energy. Furthermore, they enable a better working or living environment, which in turn, increases employee productivity and quality of life. In addition, sustainable real estate also has economic advantages in the form of reduced lifecycle costs, increased stability of value and potentially higher rents and prices. And this is precisely what sustainable, i.e. long-term, real estate management will offset against some of the costs incurred in new construction and refurbishment.

Climate Change

Amendments/Adjustments in Switzerland
The climate in Switzerland has changed significantly over the past few decades. Since 1961, there has been an increase in temperature of 0.39°C on average every ten years. This trend is rising and likely to continue in the future. The extent of this change will depend on whether global greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced quickly and significantly, but measures, in order to adapt to the effects of climate change are indispensable in any case.

Climate Neutrality by 2050
With the approval of the Paris Agreement, the Federal Government agreed, amongst other things, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 % by 2030 compared to 1990. On the 28th of August 2019, the Federal Council took another step forward and decreed a climate neutral Switzerland by the year 2050. This would enable Switzerland to meet the internationally agreed target of limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial times and from 2050 onwards, Switzerland is to emit no greenhouse gas emissions at all («net zero»).

Total Revision of the CO2 Act
After a long struggle, the total revision of the CO2 law was passed on the 25th of September 2020. The CO2 steering tax on fossil fuels will remain the centrepiece of Swiss climate policy, in addition to existing CO2 taxes on fuels, such as heating oil and natural gas, which the federal government has been levying since 2008. It is intended to provide incentives for more economical consumption and an increased use of low CO2 – or CO2 free – energy sources.

Measures for Buildings
In the building sector, which is the second largest CO2 emitter responsible for 24 % of greenhouse gas emissions, the CO2 levy on fuels will be continued. The levy rate can be increased to a maximum of CHF 210 per ton of CO2  (Status 2020: CHF 96 per ton). The building program, financed by a partial earmarking of the CO2 levy expires in 2025. If CO2 emissions in the building sector do not fall by at least 50 % by 2026/27, threshold values for buildings will be introduced nationwide from 2029. From 2023, new buildings will no longer be allowed to emit CO2. For existing buildings, a limit of 20 kg CO2 per square meter will apply when heating systems are replaced and this value is to be reduced by 5 kg every five years.

 

 

Environmental Systems

Water, Soil, Air, and Biodiversity
These four, fundamental environmental systems are the basis for life on our planet and provide important services for our development, health and prosperity. Water is the habitat for aquatic life and the basis of life for plants, animals and humans. Soil is the solid ground for our activities and nutrition for plant growth and biogeochemical processes. Clean air is important for human and animal health. Biodiversity enables life on earth in all its forms and is the basis for countless products such as food or medicines. Diverse biological processes drive the nutrient and carbon cycle, ensure soil fertility, break down pollutants and thus purify water and air. Furthermore, they provide pollination, slope stabilisation and flood buffering. Biodiversity ensures the resilience of the entire biosphere. Environmental systems therefore also make non-material contributions to our health and well-being.

Strong environmental Systems against Climate Change
Climate change affects all our environmental systems and influences the many interactions between them. Due to global warming, water temperatures are rising, resulting in a change of conditions for aquatic life. More intense precipitation leads to increased erosion and the leaking of nutrients from soils. An increase in stable high-pressure conditions favours the occurrence of inversion layers and the formation of smog. Increasing aridity alters habitats and massively impacts the range of species and populations possible. Alternatively, our climate is also affected by natural systems. For example, oceans, peatlands, swamps, and forests are important CO2 reservoirs, which if disturbed or damaged, also cause greater effects on our overall climate.

The importance of Precautionary Principles
We are damaging our environmental systems through pollution, soil sealing, forrest clearance, or overuse of resources. With the increased degradation of natural systems and the services these ecosystems provide, foundations for all living beings, including humans, that inhabit them is threatened. This is particularly vital in the context of climate change, as healthy, robust environmental systems will provide the best possible stability and resilience for the inevitable adaptation necessary. A successful adaptation to climate change is directly linked to the state of natural resources – the more efficient these are, the higher the chances of successful adaptation. Consequently, protecting and strengthening environmental systems and reducing their stresses is the top priority in adapting to climate change and is the best precautionary measure.

 

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The fundamental importance of water, soil, air and biodiversity for the development of humankind is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17 SDGs are political targets set by the United Nations to achieve sustainable development worldwide at the economic, social and ecological levels.

Five Paths

By taking the following five actions, we can start on the path toward a sustainable future, restore wilderness and nature and preserve our culture, all within the next century.

1. Returning to renewable Energy
Plants on our planet use over three million kilowatt hours of solar energy every day. This is almost 20 times the energy that mankind consumes. Until 200 years ago, our energy needs were also exclusively covered by renewable sources. It therefore lies within our possibilities to make the change to rely entirely on the use of sunlight, wind, water, biomass and geothermal energy again.

2. Restoring the Ocean's Abundance through the Introduction of protected Zones
The ocean is a crucial ally in our fight against rising carbon levels in the atmosphere, because it can store vast amounts of CO2. The more diverse the habitat of the ocean is, the better it can do just that. And naturally, the ocean is also an important source of food for all of us.

3. Reduce Meat Consumption and move towards a plant-based Diet
We need to radically reduce the area we use for agriculture, in order to make room for the return of more wilderness. The fastest and most effective way to do this is to change our diet. Our planet cannot sustain billions of people eating meat every day, as we simply do not have sufficient cultivable land for that.

4. Reforestation instead of Deforestation
Forests are a fundamental component of our global ecosystem. The more natural and diverse forests are, the more effective they are in their ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere and to cool the air through evaporation. We therefore need to take immediate steps against deforestation everywhere and start growing food only on land that has long been used for agriculture.

5. Native Trees on a global Scale
And we can do even more. A century ago, for example, more than three-quarters of Costa Rica was covered by forest. Uncontrolled logging was so intense, that by the 1980s, it covered merely one quarter. The government, in this particular case, decided to act and started offering grants to landowners, replanting native trees. In just 25 years, the forest has returned and now covers over half of Costa Rica. Imagine if we could achieve this on a global scale – also in Switzerland!