The Green Real Estate 2020 : Key takeaways
We had a great time last Thursday at The Green Real Estate event!
Thank you so much for taking part in our group of industry professionals bringing up the #green, #healthy, #smart real estate in the region. Thank you to all our partners, sponsors and speakers for the support and insightful talks. We were grateful to count all of you among our audience and hope to see you again next year.
And in case you were unable to attend, here is what was going on that day.
Objective and Expectations of The Green Real Estate
The single track half day event was designed to create an ecosystem for the development of green, smart and healthy buildings in Thailand and ASEAN by providing a business case for sustainable buildings and bridging the gap between normally disconnected stakeholders of the value chain.
The event was attended by property developers, owners, investors, corporate tenants and industry professionals who were catered with our guest speakers' expertise to grasp the green building market in the region, uphold financial and consumer drivers, get equipped with the best design practices and certifications, find out about the relationship between technology and sustainable construction and learn about innovative green energy projects.
Keynote address by Armelle Le Bihan
Armelle Le Bihan, founder and CEO of Green Building Consulting & Engineering, opened the event by communicating the value proposition of green real estate and calling stakeholders of the building industry to decarbonize the entire value chain.
"This event is about seizing the $16.3 trillion opportunity that lies ahead of us to develop the buildings and cities that people expect and the planet accepts. The green materials are market available, the technology is beyond proof of concept, designers and engineers hold the technical capacity, the finance world is incentivizing sustainable projects and last but not least the market wants it."
Design Tech talk by Samantha Allen: building for people, the WELL approach
Samantha Allen, Director of Market Development at IWBI Asia, home of the WELL certification, shared her insights on the wellness market adoption in Asia and how buildings designed notably to provide natural light and better air quality can enhance human health and wellbeing.
"WELL is about building a healthy environment to increase productivity in order to reach a good return on investment, improve satisfaction and happiness at work, attract and retain top talent and promote health to all employees for better engagement rate."
Samantha insisted on the psychological and physical effects of daylight and how it influences our body's circadian rythm by affecting our sleep, which can be linked with health issues such as obesity, diabetes, depression and metabolic disorders.
Technology Tech talk by Apichai Riddiboot: transitioning to a green energy and sharing economy model
Apichai Riddiboot, Advisor to CEO and Project Director of CODE at BCPG, opened our minds to possibilities for energy decentralization and decarbonization with the presentation of the first and world's largest peer to peer blockchain powered solar trading project in Bangkok which was implemented in partnership with Sansiri and serves a shopping center, international school, serviced apartments and a dental hospital.
"It's time that we make technology and the energy sector merge to create something better."
Khun Apichai mentioned the need for new regulations in the building of the smart cities of tomorrow, with the idea of a national energy trading platform that would coordinate several communities such as T77, owned by BCPG and other actors of the energy sector, working together.
Developer presentation by Jirapat Janjerdsak: towards a circular model in the building sector
Jirapat Janjerdsak, CTO of Siri Ventures, took us through the fostering of high potential smart and green developments, explaining the company’s vision for the development of Thailand’s property industry through new technology and showcased some latest technologies such as residential wind turbines and autonomous waste sorting machines.
Expert panel discussion: financing sustainable buildings and projects
As part of the green finance panel, Itty Varugis, Thailand Country Coordinator of the Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN), Ittiporn Intravisit, First Vice President of Kasikornbank and Cedric Rimaud, ASEAN Program Manager of the Climate Bonds Initiative, discussed the role of finance in climate action and how each of their organisations provides access to finance for green projects.
Khun Ittiporn Intravisit reported on Kasikornbank's efforts towards carbon neutrality, the integration of ESG ratings for their products, and explained the green loans and financing instruments that are proposed for existing green buildings.
"There’s a real pressure on banks, coming from investors and customers. Our major shareholders, especially overseas shareholders, are asking for proof of our efforts towards climate action."
Itty Varugis addressed the importance of climate action and how to finance the transition towards a greener future through innovation and investment in climate-relevant businesses. The audience also got a better understanding of how to translate the metrics of climate action into financial value through the consideration of SDGs.
"Since the 1970’s, the notion of “stakeholder” has gradually been narrowed down to the notion of “shareholder”, whereas now, we really see that stakeholders care about social and environmental outcomes."
Cedric Rimaud illustrated the uptake of green bonds in Asia and the rest of the world as well as the benefits of directing investments towards green projects, especially in the real estate sector. Besides, Cedric showed how green bonds represent a way for investors to better manage the risk of their portfolios.
"The argument of climate change has already been well understood by civil society. What is new is that it has become a business proposition. Companies are now understanding that there are benefits coming from action."
The whole was followed by a networking cocktail where the audience composed of property developers, land owners and investors, real estate consultants and building professionals got an opportunity to exchange with peers in a relaxed afterwork setting.
Thank you again to our partners and sponsors Somfy Group, Grundfos, Noken Porcelanosa Bathrooms, Archetype Group, Saint Gobain Gyproc and PropertyGuru Property Report for their support in promoting better buildings in the region. And last but not least, thank you to our guest speakers for sharing their insights, knowledge and expertise with us. See you next year!
Technology Official Sponsor: Somfy Group
Building System Official Sponsor: Grundfos
Sanitary Official Sponsor: Noken Porcelanosa Bathrooms
Design & Construction Official Sponsor: Archetype Group
Material Official Sponsor: Saint Gobain Gyproc
Media Partner: PropertyGuru Property Report
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