2.00 PM – 2.45 PM

Panel Discussion: Net Zero Carbon and Existing Buildings - click to read more

45 mins Mandatory Seminar

As we are getting to grips with building practical pathways to achieve Net Zero Carbon (NZC) across the real estate sector, the scale of the challenge is becoming apparent, and the implications in terms of broader investment strategies are also starting to become clearer. The existing building stock will need to undergo significant improvement works to deliver on these targets, requiring technical upgrades as well as substantial investment. There will also likely be buildings that cannot meet these requirements.

During this session the panel will discuss the practical interventions required to transition the existing building stock to Net Zero Carbon in operation and the likely impact on asset valuations and fund strategy. 

Moderator Frankie Demetriades, ESG Manager at Abrdn, will be joined by the following panellists: Sam Carson, Head of Sustainability, Valuation Advisory at CBRE; Mathieu Elshout, Head of Sustainability and Impact Investing at PATRIZIA AG; and Apeksha Gupta, Principal Consultant, Greengage Environmental Ltd.

Speakers

Mathieu Elshout

Head of Sustainability & Impact Investing, Patrizia AG

Mathieu Elshout is Head of Sustainability and Impact Investing at PATRIZIA and serves on its Real Estate Investment Committee. Previously he was Senior Investment Director at PGGM, where he was responsible for a portfolio of European private real estate investments as well as leading PGGM’s efforts on sustainability within Real Estate. Mathieu sat on PGGM’s Global Private Real Estate Investment Committee and served on many Funds’ Advisory and Supervisory Boards and Investment Committees.

Before joining PGGM in 2008 he worked for 10 years in various positions at consulting engineering firm Grontmij (now Sweco). He served as Non-executive Director of GRESB, as Chair of the INREV Sustainability Committee and as member of the Advisory Board of the ULI Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the ULI Europe Sustainability Product Council, sits on the CRREM Global Scientific & Investor Committee and is member of the inaugural GRESB Foundation Board.

Mathieu is an INSEAD certified director, earned a Master of Real Estate degree from the Amsterdam School of Real Estate (University of Amsterdam) and holds a Ba in Environmental Management (Van Hall Institute Groningen).

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Frankie Demetriades

ESG Manager - Real Estate, Abrdn

Frankie joined Abrdn in July 2023 as a Real Estate ESG Manager working across the European funds, with a particular focus on decarbonisation.

Frankie started her career at Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) where she trained as a chartered surveyor before specialising in sustainability and setting up the LSH sustainability team. Following LSH, Frankie joined Fiera Real Estate as an Associate Director within the ESG team where she was primarily responsible for leading and implementing the UK ESG strategy.

Frankie holds an MSt in sustainability in the Built Environment from the University of Cambridge, an MSC in Real Estate from the London South Bank University and a BA (Hons) in History from the University of London.

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Apeksha Gupta

Principal Consultant, Greengage Environmental Ltd

Dr. Apeksha Gupta is a Principal Consultant at Greengage Environmental Ltd and is responsible for the management of the Net Zero Carbon services at Greengage. She has experience of working with the public and the private sector and her clients include owners, developers, asset managers and financial institutions.

Apeksha specialises in Net Zero and deep energy retrofits and her experience spans from delivering net zero at a master planning level to individual assets focusing on improved performance management and operational performance. She also has extensive experience developing sustainable guidelines and briefs,  renewable micro-grids, waste and water strategy. Apeksha has a passion for working with sustainable materials and modern methods of construction and their application in design and retrofits to achieve carbon reductions at a whole life carbon level.

 

 

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Sam Carson

Head Of Sustainability, Valuations and Advisory Services , CBRE UK

Sam is passionate about helping businesses become stronger through sustainability and to use energy more efficiently. Sam recently joined CBRE Global Investors. Before this he worked for Carbon Intelligence since 2011 and played a key role in the development of their data services, wellbeing and approach to Commercial Real Estate clients. 

Sam directed how Carbon Intelligence addressed Net Zero Carbon in Commercial Real Estate. He was a member of the UKGBC Advancing Net Zero working group and the UKGBC Energy Use Intensity Metric working group. He has worked with IPUT, Hermes Real Estate, Aviva Investors and others in the development of Net Zero planning.

Sam is also well engaged in the Commercial Real Estate industry, to help understand the key challenges across the sector. He sits on the GRESB European Benchmarking Committee, the BBP REEB Benchmarking Committee and is a member of the UKGBC Future Leadership Forum Advisory Board, and is a co-author of the UKGBC “Scope 3 Guide for Commercial Real Estate”.

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