Sustainability labels are becoming increasingly important for companies, property portfolios and buildings. One expression of this is the abundance of possible certificates that measure different criteria and therefore also make different statements. We bring order to the labelling salad and show which considerations are decisive when choosing the right sustainability certificate.
Sustainability labels are in vogue. No wonder, after all, they offer property owners and investors a wide range of benefits and help them to achieve ecological and economic goals. They create transparency, make successes visible and demonstrably contribute to increasing the value of properties.
Now to the other side of the coin: the sheer number of labels, programmes and initiatives makes it difficult for many parties to maintain an overview. Which certificate is suitable for which property? Which sustainability data is relevant for legally compliant reporting? How expensive is which certification? We frequently encounter these questions in our day-to-day consultancy work. There is often no one-size-fits-all answer. The individual needs and goals of property owners make things even trickier.
There are basically two different approaches to evaluating and communicating sustainability: On the one hand, there are sustainability labels or certificates and, on the other, so-called reporting standards.
Labels vs. Reportings
Sustainability labels are labels that are awarded to companies, properties or products to confirm that certain sustainable criteria and standards have been met. They serve as a seal of quality and provide an immediately recognisable confirmation of the sustainability characteristics of the property in question. Well-known certificates in the property industry include LEED, BREEAM, SGNI/DGNB and Minergie/ECO.
Reporting standards are to be understood as frameworks and guidelines that help companies to systematically and comparably record their sustainability performance and practices. In particular, they help to systematically report on sustainable activities and their impact, i.e. they focus on the disclosure of information and the transparency of sustainability reporting.
Frequently used standards in the DACH region are the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), the Real Estate Investment Data Association (REIDA), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). They require separate consideration, which is why we will deal with them in the next article.
Categorisation of the rating systems
When choosing the appropriate assessment option, the first step is to categorise the common labels into four levels: Company, portfolio, building and components or products. The portfolio and building levels can be broken down further along the property life cycle. There are certificates for new construction, refurbishment, operation and demolition.
Lange Zeit lag der Zertifizierungsfokus auf dem Neubau. Zwischenzeitlich geht der Trend jedoch hin zu Nachhaltigkeitslabels im Betrieb. Je nach Grösse und Komplexität des einzelnen Bauwerks sind dabei andere Systeme vorzuziehen:
- Der «GEAK Plus»-Ausweis ist eine einfache Variante für die Zertifizierung einzelner Gebäude oder kleiner Portfolios. Die Kosten belaufen sich auf unter 10'000 Franken. In Deutschland wird auch häufig der GEG-Ausweis, KfW40 oder Plusenergiegebäude eingesetzt. Die Kosten dafür belaufen sich i.d.R. auf unter 5000 Euro.
- In der Schweiz eignet sich Minergie/Eco für mittelgrosse Portfolios und auch Areale. Das Label enthält mehr Normen und Kriterien und beachtet u.a. auch die graue Energie. Mit dem Umfang steigen auch die Kosten. Für eine Zertifizierung ist in der Regel mit bis zu 50'000 Franken/Euro zu rechnen
- Grossunternehmen, die oft börsenkotiert sind, fokussieren häufig auf ganzheitliche Nachhaltigkeitslabels wie SGNI in der Schweiz bzw. DGNB in Deutschland. Die Zertifizierungen sind sehr umfassend und belaufen sich normalerweise auf rund 170'000 Franken/Euro
Bei der Nachhaltigkeitszertifizierung von Immobilien im Bestand steht der Betrieb im Zentrum. Hier stellt sich meistens die Frage, wie man die Nachhaltigkeit in Sachen Energieverbrauch, Wellbeing und Nebenkosten bis zur nächsten Sanierung laufend verbessern kann. Meistens konzentrieren sich Bestandshalter:innen auf umfassende Labels wie SGNI GIB, LEED Operations & Management oder BREAM in Use. Diese müssen alle drei Jahre erneuert werden und kosten jeweils zwischen 10'000 bis 30'000 Franken/Euro.
Relevant factors when choosing a certificate
In addition to the size and composition of the property portfolio, other aspects also play an important role in the selection of the appropriate sustainability certification. These include, in particular, the location, utilisation and tenant groups for buildings in operation and also the costs of new construction.
Other important criteria include the time of a possible initial certification, the renewal cycles of the certificates and the number of aspects analysed. For example, 37 criteria and 479 parameters are assessed for a DGNB refurbishment certificate, but only 9 criteria and 175 parameters for the label for existing buildings. Such parameters can, for example, take into account the building performance on the basis of structural and technical features or the life cycle assessment, CO2 emissions, biodiversity, etc.
Either a top-down approach or a bottom-up approach is used to determine the appropriate certification:
- Town-down means that the property strategy is decisive. For example, it involves optimising purchased properties in the long term and then selling them at a profit or holding them.
- In contrast, the bottom-up principle is used to look at the individual property and consider what makes sense at property level, taking into account all relevant parameters.
For many companies, the question of the right assessment system is turning into a tug-of-war between departments at portfolio and building level. However, a diverse labelling landscape is not a problem as long as there is a clear strategy for how the information and data from the certifications can be used in a meaningful way.
Sustainability labels as part of risk management
The assessment and documentation of sustainability efforts have long since become an essential part of risk management in the property industry. Sustainability labels play a central role in this. They ensure that work is carried out in accordance with standards and standardised criteria catalogues during construction and operation, anticipate developments and ensure the future viability of properties.
This not only ensures a comprehensive 360-degree perspective, but also provides the necessary data and processes for measuring and monitoring sustainability performance. This structured approach across the life phases of properties therefore seems to us to be the greatest advantage of certification.
In the second part of our blog series, we draw a cross-comparison between Switzerland and Germany in terms of reporting obligations, green labels and sustainability certificates.
Dr. Johannes Gantner is a partner and member of the Executive Board at pom+. He is responsible for the Sustainability & Performance service area in Switzerland and specialises in the sustainable certification of real estate.
Rebekka Ruppel is CEO of pom+Germany and supports property owners and portfolio holders in optimising their ESG performance. As Chairwoman of the ZIA Transparency & Benchmarking Committee, she is committed to the economically sensible implementation of EU regulations and attaches particular importance to balanced proportionality.