FIABCI embraces transition to net zero

Sep 10, 2021 Latest News

The topic of net zero carbon real estate was the focus of the conference “Driving the transformation towards Net Zero - Practical solutions and best practices”, organized by FIABCI in the context of the MIPIM September Edition 2021, which happened on September 7 and 8, in Cannes, France.

The FIABCI at MIPIM conference program consisted of three presentations and a Q&A session, followed by a networking lunch, and the impressive line-up of speakers included Andreas Binkert, president of the 2000-Watt Smart Cities Association, Anne-Marie Loillet, CEO of PCM Opérateur Urbain S.A., and Dmytro Kovganich, co-founder of the project Mallow Island, moderated by Thomas Henle, president of FIABCI-Suisse.

FIABCI World President Jordi Ribó, who officially opened the session, said: “Real estate is one of the pillars our society is built on. As such, we as an industry have to take our share of the world’s challenges and try to always be part of the solution, starting with assuming responsibility for the industry’s impact on Climate Change and turning words into actions.”

“On this note, today’s conference program is very much in line with the vision behind FIABCI’s Strategic Plan 2021-2025, in particular goal number 5 - Development of a Global Real Estate Consultancy for Public/Private sector - and our aim to transform FIABCI into a “For Impact Organization” and to sensitize the entire real estate industry and its practitioners to a global goal – Zero Carbon by 2050.”, he continued.

Andreas Binkert was the first speaker of the session, delivering a presentation on the Swiss 2000WSC label concept, the first carbon-neutral label for cities authorized by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy to represent a ‘2000-Watt Site’. FIABCI-Suisse and the non-profit organization recently signed a cooperation agreement with the aim to give real estate managers around the world motivation for sustainable building and for sustainable properties and neighborhoods through their concept of the Swiss 2000WSC label.

Anne-Marie Loillet, CEO of Operateur Urbain S.A. was the second speaker of the conference, presenting the project Quartier de l’Étang, the biggest development project in Europe. Ms. Loillet was also one of the guest speakers of the 39th FIABCI Leadership Summit, a new, innovative format of FIABCI’s annual summit that happened in December 2020 with the goal of offering the real estate community new insights and tools to overcome the ongoing uncertainty while moving forward and staying competitive.

Dmytro Kovganich concluded the conference with a presentation on Mallow Island, a Ukrainian Project he co-founded, devoted to stabilizing the water ecosystems, reducing the waste in water streams, and reducing carbon from the construction systems used for the project development.