Savills Egypt, one of the leading property consultants, hosts a panel discussion led by experts in sustainability and green energy, Invest-Gate reports.
The panel focused on the most pressing topics around the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, their cost, and the growth opportunities they present in the real estate industry ahead of “The Conference of Parties 27 COP27” in Egypt.
The real estate industry contributes to 40% of greenhouse gas emissions globally and is therefore an important sector for cities to consider when planning their paths to net zero.
The panel was moderated by Catesby Langer-Paget, Head of Savills Egypt Office and included Madeleine Velupillai, ESG Strategy Manager at Savills UK, Nada El Agizy, the Director of Sustainable Development, and International Cooperation at the Leagues of Arab States, Bedeir Rizk, CEO of PARAGON, Ahmad Badreldine, Managing Director of El Badr Group, and Mohamed Elsammaa, Chief Development Officer of KarmSolar.
“Egypt is following the steps of other global economies in efforts to reduce the sector’s impact on climate change. There are currently 23 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings in Egypt and we can definitely forsee this number increasing in the near future, particularly in the New Administrative Capital and new cities,” Catesby comments.
Catesby adds that Savills is working with its partners on their developments, primarily commercial buildings that are currently under construction, seeking the LEED Platinum certification.
Research, development and property technologies will be crucial in helping to reduce emissions from the built environment as cities set their sights on net zero. Construction will therefore be at the forefront of this green building revolution, with forecasting and data analytics firm Oxford Economics suggesting that global construction output could reach $15.2 tn by 2030, up 42% from its 2020 level. The International Financial Cooperation estimates that green buildings represent a $24.7 tn investment opportunity by 2030 across cities in emerging markets,” Velupillai states.
For his part, Rizk points out that PARAGON is one of the leading companies specializing in building administrative projects with a philosophical methodology based on human-centric approach, sustainable principles, innovation, and flexible community.
“KarmSolar’s expertise in the solar energy sector has allowed us to build multiple areas of synergy with real estate developers. Our goal for this panel is to begin the discussions on evaluating the different ways in which we can build financially feasible business models and become a true utility platform,” Elsammaa notes.
“At Badrelin Group, we empower communities, thrive to set market trends, and innovate urban concepts while incorporating sustainable, green, and innovative measures. For Arkan and 205 projects, we’ve provided energy efficient designs and created an internal energy efficient transport network since it became a mandate to overcome energy cost increases,” Badreldine clarifies.
It is worth noting that the Egyptian government has taken economic and environmental measures that played a major role in stimulating investments, investing $324 bn to achieve sustainable development initiatives to reduce emissions and improve infrastructure. The state has taken this approach in all new cities, whether it has worked to establish them during the recent period, or cities that have been implemented decades ago through replacement and renewal processes that ensure the implementation of this new approach.
