CEDER 2024 in review: ESG compliance and the relationship with the tenants

At CEDER 2024, one of the subjects that repeatedly came up was the fact that the topic of ESG has developed from a few coordinates taken into consideration on a voluntary basis, into a very stringent set of requirements, imposed by EU regulations. In this context, the participants at the ESG panel were asked by moderator Maria Florea, Head of Office Advisory at iO Partners, about their strategies of complying with the new requirements.

Iuliana Irimia, Head of Office Asset Management at CPI Property Group admitted that the issue was challenging, but “a beautiful way to reach our targets.” She said: “CPI has clear targets until 2030. We need to decrease the carbon foot[print], also to have 100% green energy, also to decrease the consumption of water, of energy.” Regarding strategies, she mentioned an assessment of older buildings and investing extensively into the replacement of equipment or refurbishment of office buildings. She also noted being very pleased with the fact that her company succeeded to sign green leases with all of their tenants: “So there are commitments made together, and basically, we go together in one direction, which is [a] very, very important thing.”

On this topic, Cătălin Năstăsoiu, VP Marketing Strategy at Genesis Property, said that “ESG is a journey” and that “Genesis property has a very systematic approach to sustainability”, which includes setting up a sustainability task force, establishing the required metrics for target implementation and evaluating sustainability in their portfolio. He mentioned being one of the first companies to join the community of companies of the UN Global Compact and having an Echo Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certification. Lastly, Năstăsoiu also mentioned a sense of mutual understanding with their tenants on the topic of ESG: “We are fortunate enough to have very large companies as tenants, who actually have not only a great deal of understanding about sustainability, but they also have their own targets to achieve, in order to have a very healthy relationship in a sustainable way.”