ESG and Energy supply
Dormant potential: Value appreciation with ESG
Markus Neumayer
Managing Partner/CEO Neumayer Projektmanagement GmbH
In the beginning was the regulation – but the market has since become the motor for improving the sustainability of investment properties. Substantial value appreciation can be realised with customised concepts for ESG investments.
“Turning off the gas“ misses the point The key to a successful ESG strategy is the necessary ranking of possible measures: Where can the greatest improvements be made at comparatively little expense, and what investments really lead to an increase in value? Apart from the fact that every property – especially investment properties – requires individual evaluation and decisions, one thing is clear from the practitioner’s viewpoint: Sustainability issues, headlines and the political discourse dominate, but are only the most important factors in very rare cases. Or to put it differently: “Turning off the gas“ misses the point. Converting the energy source is one project that will never appear in a podium ranking of the most important improvement projects. The top three
There were times when sustainability enjoyed greater popularity than in 2025 – in the real estate sector in general and on the investment property market in particular. The downgrading of legal requirements for the exit from fossil energy carriers in 2040 (and, with the expected extensions, most likely several years later) combined with the difficult market climate have been responsible for a noticeable decline in the importance of greening, taxonomy and ESG with investors and developers. This development is understandable but detrimental, above all from an economic standpoint. Measures to improve sustain- ability – when planned and implemented with expertise – can be highly profitable investments, and investment property owners and developers are well advised to carefully evaluate the ESG potential of their properties.
include, without a doubt, the replacement of windows, facade insulation and the insulation of the top floor ceiling. These improvements can save up to three-fourths of heating requirements and support a similar reduction in operating costs. The conversion of energy sources, for example from gas to an air-water-heat pump or geothermal energy, does not reduce heating requirements, is often unreasona- bly expensive in existing buildings and, in any event, does not lead to an adequate reduction in operating costs. One major argument against sustainability investments in investment properties is the limit on rental prices. All the same, sustainability measures increase the value of a property, have a positive influence on financing costs and, last but not least, ESG alignment has also become a requirement for the unrestricted marketability of real
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Investment Property Report
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