immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Transparenz

  • How data is transforming construction

    How data is transforming construction

    “At first, I also thought it was an EU thing,” says Prof Dr Adrian Wildenauer, an expert in digital construction. “But the impact on the Swiss construction industry is enormous.”

    The product passport requires every construction product, from cement to wood to window profiles, to be digitally documented. Information on origin, composition, energy consumption and recyclability must be transparent and easy to find, usually via a QR code or data link.

    This change is affecting an industry in which material data has often been scattered. Anyone who produces without DPP in future will lose access to the European market. For Swiss manufacturers, this means no delivery and therefore no sales without data. The pressure to adapt is correspondingly high.

    Data quality is key
    Many companies already have valuable information, but in different systems and formats. Wildenauer sees this as the critical weak point: “I can see that manufacturers are increasingly becoming data traders. But not every small company can afford complete data storage.”

    He advocates a national coordination centre that bundles norms, tools and standards for the construction industry. “We need to helvetise this,” he says. “Quickly, pragmatically and jointly.” Only with a coordinated data strategy across Switzerland will it be possible to avoid fragmentation and duplication.

    Transparency creates trust
    The digital product passport is more than just a regulatory requirement. It creates market transparency and new quality standards. When Swiss products appear in the European databases, this strengthens visibility and credibility. This step can make a decisive difference, especially in a global environment that focuses on CO₂ reduction and the circular economy.

    By disclosing the entire life cycle of materials, from extraction to use to dismantling, resource efficiency takes centre stage. “The old principle of ‘make, take, waste’ has had its day,” explains Wildenauer. “If you reuse materials, you save resources and become more independent.”

    New skills are emerging
    The focus on data is changing professions and processes in the construction industry. Profiles such as data managers, material certifiers and traceability specialists will emerge. These new fields of activity combine technical and digital expertise with construction practice and sustainability.

    For companies, the change starts now. “Don’t run around like a headless chicken,” advises Wildenauer. “Just get started. What data do I have, what’s missing?” An initial inventory is enough to bring order to the system. Artificial intelligence can later help to recognise patterns and automate processes. But without clean basic data, the benefits are limited.

    Digitalisation as an opportunity
    The digital product passport marks a new era of transparency and efficiency in the construction industry. It requires a rethink, but offers enormous opportunities. Companies that act early secure a strong market position and gain the trust of investors, clients and end customers.

    Wildenauer puts it in a nutshell: “This is not a threat, but an invitation to create order and work together to make construction more resilient and sustainable.”

  • Digital property information on the rise

    Digital property information on the rise

    The PLR-cadastre has long been a central tool for spatial planning and project development in Switzerland. It provides interactive information on public-law property restrictions, from building zones to protected areas. Now the Federal Council wants to modernise the legal basis for this. The rules for recording information in the cadastre are to be simplified, responsibilities clarified and duplication with the land register reduced.

    A key aim is to increase legal certainty. For example, the previous assumption that the contents of the cadastre are generally known will be removed. This is an important step towards better delimitation of responsibility and liability.

    Future model for the national property information portal
    The cadastre should now also contain general, abstract and officially binding regulations such as building and distance lines. These play a decisive role in the assessment of utilisation potential, for example in site developments or new construction projects near roads and bodies of water.

    In future, all information from the PLR-cadastre will be made centrally accessible via a national portal. This will make things much easier for everyone involved in working with land. This will provide investors, authorities, planning offices and project developers with transparent data on the ownership and utilisation structure at the click of a mouse.

    Setting the course by summer
    The consultation on the amendment to the law will run until 30 June 2025, paving the way for a property information system that meets the digital requirements of modern spatial and location development. The federal government is thus sending a strong signal in favour of planning simplification, investment security and data-based location promotion.

  • Sustainability standard introduced for Swiss real estate funds

    Sustainability standard introduced for Swiss real estate funds

    The Swiss real estate sector is responsible for around a quarter of all CO2 emissions. In order to make the situation and market behavior clearer, the Swiss Sustainable Finance Association has now developed a standard questionnaire on the sustainability of real estate funds. This is intended to make real estate trading more transparent and lead to reliable decisions with regard to sustainability, according to a press release. Investors can answer questions on sustainability in a standardized way and thus increase the comparability of offers. The resulting transparency is of interest to banks and asset managers as well as potential investors. The questionnaire also provides information on compliance with ESG criteria (environmental, social and governance) in the real estate sector.

    “A standard questionnaire increases comparabilityand reduces the workload for everyone involved,” Sabine Döbeli, CEO of Swiss Sustainable Finance, is quoted as saying in the press release. “At the same time, regular further development involving all players in the real estate investment value chain can ensure that the questionnaire is adapted to current developments and always contains the most relevant information.” (more…)

  • Efficient work contract review with AI

    Efficient work contract review with AI

    Master builders are pragmatic doers whose main focus is on the realisation of construction projects. Legal expertise is often not their strong point. Nevertheless, the regular conclusion and careful examination of contracts for work is essential. This important step is often neglected due to high legal costs, which can result in unfavourable contractual conditions for construction companies and high losses in the event of a dispute.

    Introduction of the new service
    To counteract this problem, SBC is now offering its members an innovative solution. Work contracts can now be reviewed for a flat fee – regardless of the scope of the contract or the number of clauses. This service is made possible by the use of artificial intelligence.

    Cooperation with Legartis
    In cooperation with the Zurich-based company Legartis, SBC has developed a platform on which members can upload their contracts for work and general terms and conditions. The SBC’s legal department checks the documents using the specialised software and provides well-founded feedback within a maximum of 48 hours.

    How the AI-supported review works
    The AI model has been trained with thousands of contracts for work and labour and can therefore recognise correlations and highlight deviations regardless of the wording. Members can also define individual specifications, for example for special conditions with clients. Simon Lüscher emphasises: “Our members can massively reduce their legal risks and bring clarity to the jungle of agreements with a precise work contract review.” With this new service, SBC is taking a significant step towards digitalisation and supporting its members in minimising legal risks and concluding contracts more securely. The cooperation and the use of artificial intelligence enable a fast, inexpensive and effective contract review that is unrivalled on the market.

  • Milestone of transparency on greenhouse gas emissions of the real estate industry

    Milestone of transparency on greenhouse gas emissions of the real estate industry

    With a share of 23.9%, real estate is the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland after transport and industry. There is therefore no way around sustainable real estate to achieve the net-zero climate targets. However, you can’t tell by looking at real estate whether it is environmentally friendly or not. Labels and ratings were therefore created early on to provide information about the sustainability of real estate.

    Comparability is central
    What initially contributed a lot to the promotion and better understanding of the sustainability of real estate has meanwhile become a problem itself. The variety of labels and initiatives in the sustainability field overwhelms many market participants. Moreover, the individual ratings can hardly be compared with each other. Some ratings include several dozen indicators, so that in the end it is no longer clear what they are trying to express at all. Moreover, many investment vehicles in the real estate sector are now labelled as sustainable and apply ESG criteria, but there is no clarity as to how sustainable the respective properties are.

    The trend is towards disclosure of environmental indicators
    However, investors are demanding increasingly precise information and want to be able to compare different investment products not only in terms of returns or risks, but also in terms of sustainability. The trend today is therefore towards direct disclosure of environmental indicators, such as energy consumption or greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, the AMAS and KGAST associations obliged or requested their members to publish the most important key figures in the annual reports of real estate funds and real estate investment foundations with a closing date from the end of 2023.

    Why do we need a standard?
    However, calculating these key figures is anything but simple. Different values can result for the same properties, depending on the calculation method. Standardisation is therefore necessary. REIDA has taken on this task and developed a standard for determining the most important environmentally relevant key figures in the real estate sector. According to this REIDA standard, a benchmarking was carried out in 2022 with 3984 existing properties or 36 property portfolios, which have a total of almost 23 million m2 of energy reference area.

    What was measured?
    Only consumption values measured in real terms were recorded and balanced. This is a big difference to other surveys, where in many cases no consumption data is available and which therefore mostly operate with calculated values (estimates based on benchmarks). For each of the real estate portfolios, the degree of coverage is also shown together with the results. This describes the proportion of properties in the portfolio for which measured energy consumption data are available. On average, the coverage rate for all 36 portfolios is 83.1%. The disclosure of the degree of coverage also serves transparency, but is still not widespread. An analysis of the annual reports of listed real estate funds by pom+Consulting in 2022, for example, showed that only 25% of them contained quantitative information on the degree of coverage.

    Benchmarking results and their classification
    The average energy consumption in the REIDA benchmarking portfolio is 97.4 kWh per m² of energy reference area. The range is between 59 and 146 kWh/m². Special situations are probably responsible for portfolios at the lower end of the values – e.g. that single tenants purchase a lot of energy themselves, which according to the current methodology is not yet taken into account in the energy indicator. In an online survey by the University of Lausanne, which analysed 66 portfolios of institutional investors with a good 31 million m² of building space, a somewhat higher value of 105.5 kWh/m² of energy reference area was reported for the reference year 2020 – but without using a uniform calculation methodology.

    The share of renewable energy in the REIDA CO2 benchmarking is 25.8% on average, with a range of 13% to 54%. On average, the greenhouse gas emissions of the portfolios that participated in the REIDA benchmarking amount to 13.1 kg CO2 equivalents per m² energy reference area. In addition to carbon dioxide, the benchmarking also takes into account all other greenhouse gases, such as methane or nitrous oxide, and calculates CO2 equivalents (CO2e) from them. The REIDA portfolio 2022 thus achieves a very good value – with a range between 4.1 and 22.4 kg CO2e/m². The sample surveyed by the University of Lausanne achieved an average value of 19.6 kg CO2e/m². Again, due to the lack of a uniform calculation method, a direct comparison is only possible with reservations.

    Specification of uncertainty ranges
    Another achievement of the REIDA benchmarking is the specification of uncertainty ranges. This is because the consumption and emission values used as well as the calculations are always subject to uncertainties (e.g. inaccurate measurement sensors, small conversion uncertainties from lettable area to energy reference area). These uncertainties are aggregated for each portfolio and shown at the level of the key figures in the form of an uncertainty range, which indicates how reliable the key figure is. The uncertainty range is given as twice the standard deviation, which means that the actual value lies within the specified uncertainty range with a probability of 95%. For the indicator of CO2e emission intensity, the individual portfolios show uncertainty ranges from 0.3 to 5.8 kg CO2e/m².

    New standard for ESG reporting in Switzerland
    With the CO2 benchmarking, REIDA sets a new standard and thereby achieves a milestone in the ESG reporting of real estate in Switzerland. The standard will not only be continuously improved in terms of methodology and data quality, but will also cover aspects of environmental sustainability that have so far been excluded. One of the most important tasks will be to cover not only the operating phase of real estate, but also its entire life cycle, and in particular to incorporate the issue of grey energy. The addition of ratings and certificates – which have limits in terms of transparency and comparability – as well as the transition to direct reporting of the actual key performance indicators are thus in full swing.

  • Unused potential in the cooperation between location promotion and the real estate industry

    Unused potential in the cooperation between location promotion and the real estate industry

    At first glance, business promotion and the real estate sector differ significantly. While location subsidies are usually borne by the public sector – federal government, cantons, cities, municipalities – real estate service providers are in the vast majority of cases private companies. This means that the former are non-profit organizations and the latter are for-profit companies. Location promoters want to win companies over to their sphere of activity and keep them for as long as possible; they are therefore interested in a long-term relationship. Real estate actors, on the other hand, are usually deal-oriented, which leads to comparatively short customer relationships. What is at the center of the activities is only clear from the naming: locations on the one hand, real estate on the other.

    More similarities than differences
    At second glance, however, there are important similarities. First and foremost, there are the customers, who are often the same, since a company looking for a new location is always looking for a new property. In the opposite case, the same is not always true, but in most cases. Because when a company needs a new property, for example because the existing one has become too small, the evaluation process usually also gives thought to the advantages and disadvantages of a change of location. The second thing in common is the property itself: no company can do without the four classic production factors of labor, capital, knowledge and land. Both location promoters and real estate players support their customers in optimizing the land or property factor. In doing so, they make an important contribution to their customers and support them in meeting their goals.

    Benefit from each other
    Due to the common ground there is great potential to benefit from each other. For example, both sides can gain advantages in marketing: The real estate industry can serve as a potent multiplier of the message of a location promoter, because real estate service providers are in direct contact with companies looking for new properties. This channel is still underutilized by location promoters. Conversely, real estate professionals are very interested in knowing the real estate needs of those looking for a location as precisely as possible in order to be able to provide a competitive offer. This information can in turn be provided by the location promotion.

    to create transparency
    In order to be able to create synergies, transparency is first and foremost necessary: Instead of staying among each other, the promotion of the location and the real estate industry have to merge, establish common platforms and exchange information. Both physical and digital platforms are available to them for this purpose. Real estate fairs are a good opportunity to meet face-to-face, maintain existing contacts and make new ones. At the international level, the MIPIM in Cannes in March and the EXPO REAL in Munich in October each year. For more than 20 years, there has been a Swiss joint stand at both trade fairs, which allows Swiss companies and locations to present themselves at a reasonable budget. The IMMO'Messe in Zurich, which is held in January each year, has established itself in Switzerland. This is where real estate investors present themselves and meet market participants of all kinds. Although the IMMO 'has long since established itself as a meeting point for the industry, locations and their representatives are still seldom to be found there. In addition to the trade fairs, there is a wide range of congresses that offer opportunities to maintain contacts around lectures and expert discussions. In addition, location promoters and real estate players can choose from a large number of network events. They are offered by associations, interest groups, locations and private companies.

    Online is catching up
    In today's pandemic-ruled times, online platforms have gained in importance. On the one hand, industry experts can make themselves heard by appearing at webinars and ensure broad awareness. Examples include the Real Estate Brains or Metropole Insights discussion platforms. On the other hand, online databases have become established that can be used by location promoters and real estate professionals alike. For example, companies can contact swisscircle-member.ch
    present. Realestate-experts.ch is ideal for individuals and top-projekte.ch for larger real estate projects. In addition to these offers, every market player is called upon to use social media tools such as LinkedIn or Xing for themselves.

    Networking
    There are hardly any projects that can be carried out on your own – be it as a location promoter or as a real estate professional. As a rule, every actor depends on useful information, benevolent market participants, efficient suppliers and / or cooperative partners. That is why a good network is essential. This requires personal commitment and a wise choice of platforms for maintaining and expanding one's contacts. Such networks are providers of such networks as SVSM, Swiss Circle, SVIT, RISC, ULI and Fiabci.

    Ideas to improve collaboration
    There are already numerous opportunities to intensify the cooperation between location promotion and the real estate industry. At the same time, however, there is also potential that is still largely unused. In this way, locations could present themselves on the major real estate portals and get in touch there with companies looking for a new property. Or more congresses or events could be organized that are aimed at both location promoters and real estate service providers. Ultimately, those offers will prevail which strengthen the participants' perception in the market, allow the exchange of experiences and support the maintenance of the personal network.