Your comprehensive solution for ESG assessments

ESG assessments and sustainability practices are hot topics. So, it stands to reason that companies in the real estate industry are faced with the question: Which ESG assessment system is best suited for our needs? Additionally, it is not just about CO2 emissions anymore, but also accessibility, the flexibility of your premises, sustainable corporate governance and company culture. Wüest Partner has developed an ESG assessment system that stands out for its flexibility, reliability and actionable targeted measures. Nicolas Wild from Wüest Partner takes a look at the general challenges and Wüest Partner’s solutions.

Wüest Partner is your expert

Wüest Partner has been focusing on ESG challenges for several years. A year ago, it developed a solution approach that enables companies to carry out an ESG assessment of their real estate portfolios. After Wüest Partner had gathered all ESG catalogs and captured the quintessence of ESG assessments, it was able to create criteria that would be relevant for the assessment. Wüest Partner’s requirement for the product was that the data collection should be simplified and digitized, so that it could be applied by companies to their entire real estate portfolio.

ESG assessment challenges

The biggest challenges that Wüest Partner has identified in discussions with companies are:

1. Time: The data collection required for ESG-assessments of properties is very time-intensive 
2. Lack of reliable data: Data is not always available for all properties, which can make the evaluation difficult.
3. Standardization: So far, there is no uniform evaluation standard. Different products or labels use different methods to evaluate the criteria    
4. Transparency: To understand why a particular score is arrived at, it is essential that the methodology and all communication is transparent.  
5. High level of detail vs. portfolio perspective: Many providers offer solutions that either do not deliver precise insights at property level, or are time-consuming from a portfolio perspective. Wüest Partner positions itself between these extremes. We offer an efficient, versatile tool that identifies the need for action within the property portfolio and that allows you to compare properties with each other. 

Data-based ESG assessment: How Wüest Partner assesses your real estate portfolio

We offer you a fully comprehensive product with which you can assess the ESG of your property portfolio. Wüest Partner generates the assessment data from several sources:

1. Wüest Partner uses its own established data models for the valuation.  
2. The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) commissioned Wüest Partner to develop a model that can be used to analyze property and mortgage portfolios for their climate compatibility. We also use this tool for your ESG assessment.
3. With VISITS, Wüest Partner has created an inspection tool that is used to assess properties. When the property is inspected, all the relevant data is automatically recorded and structured.

4. Existing data from portfolio assessment can be used for the ESG assessment. 

Wüest Partner then evaluates the collected data using the ESG sustainability assessment. It evaluates 10 criteria with 25 indicators and over 50 data points, translating this into a rating system with a scale of 1-5. The Wüest Partner rating system provides you with a tool that gives you a comprehensive view of the sustainability of your properties. 

Wüest Partner goes even further: clear recommendations for action for your properties

While other ESG assessments end here, Wüest Partner is only just getting started. Based on the results, your company is given clear recommendations for action per property on how to make them more ESG-efficient. Depending on the criterion and the score, you can often improve your ESG score by making a small investment: be it nesting boxes or parking facilities for bicycles, etc. You will be provided with a detailed overview of which investments have an impact on your ESG score.  

Once you implement measures, your score will be reassessed.

All the benefits at a glance

Wüest Partner gathers all the relevant information for you centrally, meaning you are not dependent on multiple service providers: You receive everything required to make up your reporting and assessment from Wüest Partner:

1. Knowledge: you get a comprehensive view of ESG. Our experts will support you with any questions you may have.   
2. Actionable recommendations: Clear actionable recommendations enable you to make sensible ESG-based investments.
3. Fast and efficient: Wüest Partner needs just a few hours per valuation and per property. This makes the valuation easy to apply to entire property portfolios.
4. Comprehensive and standardized: With the solution approach developed by Wüest Partner, both new and old buildings can be assessed.
5. Reliable and flexible: Thanks to its high degree of flexibility, Wüest Partner can tailor your valuation and reporting to your specific sustainability objectives. The high level of automation and the use of established data models increase reliability and informative value.

With Wüest Partner, you can carry out your ESG assessment in a quick, reliable and flexible way. Through the targeted action measures, you will improve your ESG value and, therefore, make an important contribution to climate change mitigation.

Images/Graphics: Wüest Partner, Wüest Dimensions, Istockphoto.com

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