Shared 29 August, 2025
Taking the long view
The race is on to decarbonise the world’s real estate by 2050 if the sector is to meet net zero emissions targets.
Responsible for nearly 40% of global energy related greenhouse gas emissions and consuming 40% of raw materials worldwide, the built environment represents both a challenge to the green transition and an opportunity for change.
Real estate managers increasingly recognise the importance of adapting and optimising their portfolios not only to fall in line with ever increasing environmental legislation, but as a means of ensuring commercial survival.
Tenant preferences are shifting toward green, energy-efficient and healthy buildings, while demand is rising for assets with low operating costs, renewable energy access and sustainable transport links.
A portfolio designed for long-term sustainability will be more attractive to tenants, reducing vacancy rates and increasing rental yield.
Despite growing awareness and policy pushes, emissions from buildings continue to rise, so the gap between ambition and execution widens. Real estate needs more than goals; it needs action. To close this gap, the sector must harness asset-level data and digital retrofit strategies to deliver measurable, cost-effective decarbonisation at scale.
EUROPA-CENTER – Aligning decarbonisation and long-term value
EUROPA-CENTER is a commercial property developer with a portfolio value of over 700 million euros and 28 realised properties in cities including Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt and Barcelona.
Sustainability is intrinsic to EUROPA-CENTER’s strategy, both in the construction and use of buildings throughout the portfolio.
The firm recognised not only that it would need to comply with burgeoning reporting requirements but that tenants demanded transparency on energy efficiency and environmental adequacy from their landlords.
Acknowledging that their own inhouse data collection, collation and analysis was too short term and heavily reliant on laborious and confusing manual systems, largely dominated by Excel, EUROPA-CENTER sought a more streamlined, reliable and timely process.
In March 2024, the firm partnered with Deepki, the most trusted sustainability solution for real estate, to turn its vision into action by modelling climate risk, planning investments with confidence, and tracking the real-world impact of its initiatives.
Deepki’s Investment Planning tool has helped EUROPA-CENTER shift from fragmented, asset-by-asset retrofitting towards smarter, cohesive, portfolio-level investment strategies.
Further, the tool reconciles environmental performance with financial KPIs, helping EUROPA CENTER prioritise actions that maximise return on investment, align with decarbonisation goals and boost long-term asset value.
Importantly, Deepki helps EUROPA-CENTER align with the Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) decarbonisation pathways—modelling different scenarios and planning a decarbonisation strategy for the future.
EUROPA-CENTER is also using the Deepki platform to monitor the impact of sustainability steps it has already taken. Whether that is the introduction of LED equipment or intelligent heating control, the firm has a visual representation of the impact decarbonisation has had on both emissions and running costs.
Future finance
Given the very real risk of stranded assets and brown discounting associated with unsustainable buildings, more lenders and investors are either rejecting projects or placing stricter borrowing requirements on financing arrangements.
EUROPA-CENTER can use Deepki’s data to provide accurate sustainability reports and analysis across its entire portfolio which satisfy the demands of potential financial partners and regulators alike.
By bringing together operational data, audit results and strategic targets, Deepki has enabled EUROPA-CENTER to make faster, smarter decisions, invest wisely, and scale actions across the portfolio, transforming sustainability from a reporting line into a competitive advantage.
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