immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Risikomanagement

  • Check early, fail low

    Check early, fail low

    SSbD is a holistic innovation framework of the European Union. New chemicals, materials, products and technologies should be developed from the outset in such a way that they are safe for people and the environment – throughout their entire life cycle. There is a clear principle behind this: identify risks at an early stage and correct them cheaply, instead of reacting late and expensively. The EU aptly calls it “fail early and fail cheap”.

    64 percent compliance with EU law
    As part of the EU IRISS project, Empa examined 15 key EU regulations that are relevant to European industry along the entire value chain. These include the Chemicals, Batteries and Packaging Regulation and the Waste Framework Directive. 64 percent of these regulatory requirements are already covered by the SSbD framework. “In many cases, SSbD requires precisely the data and assessments that companies will later need for regulatory compliance anyway,” explains study author Akshat Sudheshwar from Empa.

    PFAS as a cautionary example
    The risks of the so-called perpetual chemicals PFAS were recognized by the majority when they were introduced, but ignored for decades. Today, they accumulate in organisms, are not degradable in the environment and cause enormous costs. With an SSbD approach, these risks could have been addressed early on. This example shows what is at stake when companies only plan for safety and sustainability retrospectively.

    Additional effort that pays off
    SSbD increases the effort in the early development phase, as Sudheshwar also admits. Investing early avoids later costs due to product bans, remediation obligations or market adjustments. The key success criterion for companies is the ability to think about safety and sustainability together at an early stage and to build up the necessary expertise in both areas.

    Limitations and need for political action
    Reliable data, toxicological information and robust methods are still lacking. The SSbD framework explicitly recognizes this gap and is adaptable. At a political level, the study recommends incentives for companies and regulatory relief as well as patent extensions or economic benefits could make it easier to get started. In the long term, SSbD should be included more frequently in EU regulations, not necessarily as an obligation, but as a strategic orientation.

  • No longer a bonus, but mandatory

    No longer a bonus, but mandatory

    From ESG label to strategic reality
    Sustainability in the real estate industry has had its noisy years behind it. After gaining a certain reputation as a differentiating feature, it has now taken its place as a strategic core issue in the form of ESG criteria. However, this is precisely why the topic is in danger of becoming quiet between reporting obligations and day-to-day business. What becomes the norm disappears from the limelight. But routine is no protective shield. Especially not in an industry that thinks in decades but often makes decisions in years.

    Because while sustainability is being discarded as a done deal in many places, the structural challenges remain. Real estate thinks in cycles of 30, 40 or more years. Net zero by 2050 is therefore not a distant vision, but a real planning horizon. This also means that a large proportion of today’s existing properties can only be properly renovated or completely refurbished once.

    Uncertainty as the new planning reality
    The current geopolitical situation, volatile markets and unclear framework conditions are currently making it difficult to draw up reliable climate reduction paths. In practice, this often leads to decisions being postponed or reduced to the most favorable short-term solution. However, those who persist in linear thinking are limiting themselves in the long term. Climate protection roadmaps, gray energy, life cycle costs and climate risks must be an integral part of every decision in order to achieve climate neutrality in an economically viable way. And not at some point, but now.

    In practice, it is becoming clear that portfolio holders are taking an increasingly differentiated approach to sustainability. In addition to traditional CSR approaches, a clearly risk-oriented approach is becoming established. The focus is on reliable data on condition, consumption and emissions as well as building-specific risk profiles, which are incorporated into the portfolio strategy as control parameters. This makes sustainability a strategic decision-making factor that goes beyond reporting. The location in particular is taking center stage: Real estate must not only be efficient, but also resilient to heat, water, extreme events and social tensions. Those who systematically assess these risks can take targeted action. Everyone else reacts to the consequences later.

  • Video technology improves occupational safety on construction sites

    Video technology improves occupational safety on construction sites

    Zurich North America and Zurich Resilience Solutions (ZRS), the risk manager of insurer Zurich, will require the use of Arrowsight technology on all Zurich-insured construction completion projects in New York City. Arrowsight, based in Katonah, New York, focuses on video-based behavior modification and coaching analytics to improve jobsite safety and reduce workplace accidents.

    The background to the collaboration announced in a press release is a three-year pilot program in which Arrowsight video analysis and coaching was applied to eight major construction projects and one complex civil engineering project. Compared to twelve construction projects on which the safety technologies were not used, the Arrowsight work resulted in 50 percent fewer workplace accident reports.

    “Increasing worker safety while reducing risk and potential fraud with our cost-effective video equipment is a milestone for the industry. The reduction in the frequency and cost of claims is a direct result of compliance with workplace safety regulations – from 70 percent before the introduction of Arrowsight to 97 to 100 percent after using our technology,” Adam Aronson, founder and CEO of Arrowsight, is quoted in the press release. “We have been working with Zurich and Arrowsight on a major project in New York City since 2024 and are very pleased with how few claims we have had so far,” says Deborah Broom, VP Risk Management at Tutor Perini Corp, a participating construction company.

    Arrowsight will operate throughout the US as the exclusive provider of camera-based construction site technology for Zurich North America. Zurich Resilience Solutions will be the exclusive risk management service provider for Arrowsight.