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What is EVORA Global doing as a business to tackle climate change?

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Climate change is becoming an extremely popular combination of words; we can hear people talking more and getting interested in the topic, newspapers and tv releasing more information and adverts, and new sustainable start-ups rising in every sector.

Globally, we have seen an increased number of climate change manifestations and activist groups, and interactions around the keyword ‘sustainability’ grew 45.8% on Facebook and 30% on Instagram [1], proving that people are looking to connect with each over and with experts to become more knowledgeable about the topic and to act together.

In the last year, there has been a switch in many investors’ mindsets who are finally seeing climate change as the number one sustainability priority according to a poll of asset owners from more than 32 countries which came together for the Top1000funds.com online Sustainability event in March. 79% of investors said that climate is their number one ESG priority and this number is due to increase; more green funds will be provided to businesses who want to start or implement their sustainability journey.

This year, EVORA conducted an Investor Survey and one of the key findings is that a growing number of investors believe ESG will become common practice in 2022.  50% of respondents plan to include an ESG representative in their investment committee in the coming year. They said that integration of ESG in investment decision-making will mature in 2022 and more ESG focus is expected in the following investment lifecycle areas: investment mandates, deal sourcing, research and strategy, sustainable property management, internal training and governance. More than 75% of investors reported no link between ESG objectives and their remuneration, but 27% expect this to change in the coming years.

EVORA Global prides itself on being a sustainability consultancy and software business where our experts help clients by supporting them step by step during their ESG journey.

But what are we actually doing as a business to tackle climate change?

Let’s start from the beginning!

Back in 2011, Chris, Paul and Ed, EVORA Executive Directors and Co-Founders, had a big dream: to accelerate the evolution of real asset sustainability to enhance the wellbeing of the planet and its people. They thought hard about how to start helping businesses become sustainable. What could they do to gain trust? Where should they start from?

This is how our services were born. All of them are designed to bring sustainability to the forefront of real asset investment. Without even mentioning the benefits for our planet and its people!

Sustainability is still a developing journey with new and exciting innovations and opportunities for many people to make an impact; our services and support will certainly continue to evolve with it.

Recently, we have expanded into infrastructure sustainability, in addition to real estate, recognising that infrastructure assets can generate significant environmental and social impacts. Furthermore, this year we have introduced the Green Finance service as we recognised that the green finance agenda has been moved forward at a significant rate by the effects of climate change.

I am very proud to say that EVORA Global has signed up to several initiatives to advance the ESG agenda. They are a symbol of our hard work and our continued commitment towards sustainability.

The Planet Mark Business Certification is a recognised symbol of sustainability progress forcontinuous improvements; it encourages action and builds an empowered community of like-minded individuals. This is EVORA’s seventh year of business carbon footprint reporting and certification to Planet Mark. It demonstrates our achievement in reducing our carbon emissions associated with business operations by a minimum of 2.5% every year and our commitment to a continuous improvement in sustainability. Here’s to another seven years of great achievements!

In June 2020, EVORA joined nearly 100 other organisations in signing The World Green Building Council’s Advancing Net-Zero commitment. The commitment challenges businesses, organisations, cities, states and regions to reach net zero carbon in operation for all assets under their direct control by 2030, and to advocate for all buildings to be net zero carbon in operation by 2050. We are extremely proud of this commitment.

In December 2020, EVORA became a signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI) underlining our commitment to advancing real asset sustainability. The UNPRI works to understand the investment implications of ESG factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. In line with our company vision, we are committed to the Principles of Responsible Investment, and we actively support and endorse PRI among our clients.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been adopted by the UN General Assembly to guide global action towards a more sustainable future. Given that the real estate industry is responsible for almost half of energy and process-related emissions, we have a pivotal role to play in contributing to the achievement of these goals. We identified a number of SDGs that we can dedicate our expertise, ideas, and creativity towards achieving. We then divided them into two categories: ‘external’ SDGs that are relevant to EVORA’s service lines and ‘internal’ SDGs where EVORA can have the greatest impact through our people. Incorporating these goals into our work will strengthen our commitment and vision to accelerating the evolution and adoption of real estate sustainability to enhance the well-being of the planet and its people.

EVORA has at its heart the health and wellbeing of the team and I take this opportunity to unveil that we will soon move to a new office, how exciting! We have chosen a space that has better lighting and is visually more appealing to work in; the shape of the office space will allow a better desks configuration which will improve the social element. The building has been B EPC rated showing a very good property’s energy efficiency and fresh air is pumped in the office. 20% of the oxygen we breathe in is used by our brain to function and the amount of oxygen we have in our blood controls the release of serotonin which is the key hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness. Last but not least, the original building hasn’t been demolished but recently refurbished which means that less material has been used and less embodied carbon produced if compared to a new building.

At EVORA it is important for us to advance the ESG narrative around the globe. Because of this, last year we introduced the EVOLVE ESG Training Academy. These free webinars are accessible to professionals working in the real asset sector but also to whoever is curious to know more about sustainability. Yes, I have said FREE! The reason is simple, we want to make real assets more sustainable and to drive awareness of the changes needed to be made today, before it’s too late. The training webinars have reached 28 countries and more than 1300 individuals. Thanks to the support of everyone who has participated, we are motivated to keep the academy running for many years to come.

Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” and I wholeheartedly agree. Education is how people gain knowledge, critical thinking and skills to find solutions and create innovations to make this world a better place.

EVORA will continue to tackle climate change as a business, continue to expand our services and evolve our training programme; we will keep creating and promoting healthy and productive workspaces, and improving our business to retain all our ESG credentials.

I am really proud to be part of EVORA and I am delighted to work with like-minded people in such a respectful and transparent environment. There is an incredible bunch of people at EVORA who all really care – for one another, for the work they do, for their clients and for our planet.

[1] https://www.thedrum.com/industryinsights/2021/11/03/leading-sustainability

Act on Climate Change

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COP26 is well underway and the world is keenly waiting to see what is discussed and then acted upon.  Whilst the seriousness of the event can not be understated we thought, as we approach the end of the first week, to take a slightly different and optimistic look at the issues we face by rereleasing a blog article we wrote a couple of years ago. Hopefully, this will serve to emphasise the importance of the issues but also remind us that some of the challenges we face can be a simple refocus on modern life and most of all keep the faith we can succeed!

For those of us old enough to remember the amazing and thought provoking Baz Luhrmann song of the late 1990’s ‘ Everyone’s free to wear Sunscreen’ you will be amazed to know that it is twenty years since this early viral internet phenonium grabbed our attention. You will also no doubt recall those amazing thought provoking and immortal words of the writer Mary Schmich, the original author of the words that were wrongly attributed to Kurt Vonnegut. For those of you too young to remember the song I recommend you hunt it down and listen. It was whilst listening to a recent BBC World Service programme of the history of the song it occurred to me, as somebody who has spent the past 30 plus years in the sustainability world, what advice would I most like to pass on to the younger generation about the climate change challenge and living sustainably. So in honour of Mary, Baz and the amazing voice of Lee Perry here goes my reinterpretation of their lessons in life…

Ladies and gentlemen, readers of EVORA Insights.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future,

Acting on climate change would be it.

The long term impacts of climate change have been shown by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will offer my advice on how to address this challenge now.

Take seriously the power and passion of youth.

Dismiss this at your peril.

You may not understand the power and passion youth until you have children and grandchildren of your own.

But trust me, in 20 years from now you’ll back at this time in a way you can’t grasp now and wonder why you didn’t act when there was still possibilities to change our trajectory and how many opportunities acting now could open up before you.

The future is not as hopeless or as difficult as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the science, but know that worrying is not effective or going to change the outcome.

The real challenges in modern life are our relentless consumptive behaviour in pursuit of false happiness but know that it’s not about having what you want but wanting what you have, the simple things in life such as spending time with family and friends is free.

Do something every day that challenges the perceived wisdom.

Publish your commitment to act on climate change.

Don’t be reckless with our resources and don’t be reckless with other counties resources.

Don’t accept the suggestion the World has endless capacity.

Recycle.

Don’t waste do more with less. The World has evolved over millions of years and everything in the universe is recycled. Time is endless and our future uncertain but our place in history is not guaranteed.

Be respectful.

Remember your successes and learn from any mistakes but don’t let them restrict you, the journey in tackling climate change is challenging and we are all on it together.

Display any awards for best practice it will keep you motivated, don’t throw away your utility bills, it’s valuable data that can help you improve management of your assets

Innovate.

Don’t feel guilty you don’t know how yet, embrace the possibilities and engage with technology. Some of the best businesses I’ve known didn’t know how to innovate at the start of their sustainability journey, some of them have been able to secure Government grant funding to help them.

Embrace the power of the Sun.

Preserve the rainforest, biodiversity and ecosystem services you’ll miss then when they are gone.

Maybe you’ll strive to solve the challenge on your own.

Maybe you’ll partner with others to work together.

Maybe you’ll offset your carbon.

Maybe you’ll just go veggie and reduce meat consumption.

Whatever you do don’t congratulate yourself too much or be defeatist the future of humankind is in our hands today, so is the rest of life on Earth.

Get plenty of exercise, walk cycle run, don’t over eat or poison your body with unhealthy substances it’s the only one you’ll own.

Pause….. take time to look around you and marvel at the wonders of life.

Read and keep abreast of climate science it’s moving fast.

BEWARE the fashion industry it contributes more to global warming than aviation and shipping combined.

Celebrate and respect your culture and heritage we can learn lots about good lives from our ancestors that can guide our future.

Work together with your peer group. They understand your challenges and together you can find mutual respect and encouragement in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.

Spend time with family and friends, enjoy preparing and eating local seasonal food together, avoid cheap fast foods.

Work to bridge the gaps in geography, although the challenges can differ slightly between countries the essential issues are the same, think global act local.

Only travel sustainably.

Accept certain inalienable truths carbon taxes will come.

Politicians will eventually legislate.

You too will get older, and when you do you’ll fantasize that taxes were reasonable politicians were noble and will recall it was our children that made us aware of the threats of climate change to life on earth.

Respect mother Earth.

Maybe you need financial support, maybe you can reinvest some profits but be under no illusion time is running out.

Don’t rush ahead without considering proper science based targets or by the time we hit 2050, you’ll realise you’ve been chasing the wrong goals.

Be careful with those who sell existing stuff carefully repackaged with a green claim. Get proof of their credentials with an appropriate assurance or verification certificate. Engage a good independent consultant to help you.

But trust me on the seriousness of climate change.

EVORA will be live streaming our panel discussion at COP26 via Zoom, register here and find out more about COP26.