Sustainability standard introduced for Swiss real estate funds
Swiss Sustainable Finance has developed a standardized questionnaire on the sustainability of real estate funds. This aims to increase transparency in real estate transactions and provide investors with a uniform basis for making sustainable decisions.
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.”