Ziv Gigi, GTC’s Executive Director for SEE, spoke with Property Forum about the new tenants attracted to the City Gate complex in Bucharest, the importance of amenities in boosting the work environment and the growing demand for ESG-ready projects.

More than three-quarters (76%) of office stock across Europe will be at risk of obsolescence by 2030 according to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield. One of the reasons is the increased level of legislative action around sustainability requiring investors to modernise real estate to ensure ESG compliance. To take one example, commercial property landlords are required in a growing number of cities across North America and Europe to install green roofs that help increase urban biodiversity, optimise energy costs and improve the user experience.

Viorel Lăcătuș, Country Manager in Romania for Atenor, talked to Property Forum about the company’s ongoing residential and office developments in Bucharest and the growing interest of tenants for the sustainability certifications of buildings.

Despite the pandemic, travellers and businesses have seen several large-scale real estate-related developments at Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest during the past few years. There will be more huge investments over the coming years. Property Forum asked Rene Droese, Chief Development Officer about each of them, including reopening Terminal 1 and preparations for a new Terminal 3.

The metamorphosis of the Marynarska Business Park office complex implemented in Warsaw’s Służewiec district by PineBridge Benson Elliot and Syrena Real Estate is nearing completion. Work has been finalised on the outdoor area, replacing a 6,000 sqm concrete car park with a green park open to the city, covered with green hills. The project is changing its name to Diuna.

Sierra Balmain has published its first ESG report. Among its achievements, the company highlights e.g., reducing electricity consumption by 40% in managed facilities, implementing projects designed to benefit local communities, as well as an effective equal opportunities policy in its own organization.

Green certificates were something sufficient years ago, but in the present market reality, they fail to cover the social and governance parts of the ESG principles. Some of them are also seriously outdated – this is how one can summarize a panel discussion on developments at last month's European ESG Property Forum 2023 in Warsaw.

Real estate market players are starting to recognise the importance of data but finding the right way to collect, analyse and utilise it is still often a challenge. Matej Leskovar, Managing Director at Slovenia-based software solution provider Imagine d.o.o. talked to Property Forum about this topic in detail.

The first phase of Skanska's H2Offices has earned a Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Core and Shell version 4 certification with 84 points, which is currently the highest score in Hungary. Based on its accessibility features, the building also obtained the highest rating of Access4You certification, meaning Gold level.

On the occasion of Property Forum’s Living Investment Forum 2023 and under the umbrella of the RICS CEE residential working group, an online survey was conducted among large residential developers and management companies from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania with help from industry organisations and RICS professional network to get insight on what importance ESG considerations play in the residential sector in the CEE region. In the survey, 80% of respondents claimed that ESG is an important factor in their business decisions at the “strategy level”.