The German Real Estate company GBI Group becomes a member of the ICG and Immo2.Zero sustainability initiatives, underlining its strategic focus on ESG

Berlin, 11.07.2024. The German GBI Group has joined the Institute for Corporate Governance in the Real Estate Industry (ICG) and the DENEFF initiative Immo2.Zero. With the two new memberships in the sustainability think and do tanks, the Real Estate company is expanding its industry-specific network in two fields of action that are important to it: good, value-oriented and sustainable corporate governance and building-related decarbonisation. The GBI Group – one of the leading German property developers, fund and asset managers – is thus focusing its business activities even more strongly on sustainability. "The memberships ensure a constant, high-quality exchange on these key topics for us," explains Alexandra Quint, Head of Sustainability & ESG at the GBI Group: "The transformation of our industry is an enormous challenge in all respects. It can only succeed if we work together. We want to learn together with pioneers in the industry, contribute development and ESG expertise to networks and actively shape discourse."

From GBI's perspective, the two initiatives ICG and Immo2.Zero complement each other perfectly in terms of their sustainability focus: "With ICG membership, we are making it clear that the GBI Group focuses on good corporate governance and wants to be a reliable partner for capital providers, investors, business partners, employees and society”, says Quint. “At the same time, through our cooperation with Immo2.Zero, we are intensifying our efforts to decarbonise developments and subsequently enable climate-neutral property operations. With both memberships, we are emphasising our stance and the motto of our entrepreneurial activities."

At the Immo2.Zero practice forum, over 40 property companies have established a sustainability network on the initiative of DENEFF - the German Business Initiative for Energy Efficiency. The project developers, portfolio holders and construction service providers use working groups in particular to find the right ways to improve climate protection in and around buildings. The ICG (Institute for Corporate Governance), on the other hand, focuses primarily on value-based corporate governance, the social impact of property, social impact investing and requirements for modern urban structures. These are not about legal requirements, but rather voluntary commitments by the property industry to create urban districts as robust local environments. Existing concepts are scrutinised in terms of their effects on the climate, social structure and mobility and, if necessary, rethought.

Both initiatives welcome the new member. "We are looking forward to a fruitful exchange with GBI, which has a wealth of experience, particularly in the areas of neighbourhood development and student and publicly subsidised housing," says Susanne Eickermann-Riepe, Chairwoman of the ICG Executive Board. The ICG sees huge challenges ahead for the sector: "Investors, financiers and insurers are adjusting their priorities. How we, companies and people use property will change significantly," says Eickermann-Riepe: "You have to prepare for this change at an early stage. A prerequisite? Corporate, green and social governance. Only with the right mindset and value-oriented corporate management can the property industry continue to grow."

For Susann Bollmann, Member of the Executive Board and Head of Projects at DENEFF, the ambitious goal of a climate-neutral property portfolio by 2045 can only be achieved if the key players share their expertise, network optimally and thus maximise positive effects. "We are particularly pleased about the involvement of the GBI Group because the project developer, fund and asset manager has extensive experience in the various segments, especially in niche segments such as student and subsidised housing, senior living and serviced flats, and also operates along the property value chain," says Bollmann: "This is a great added value for our industry discourse."

"GBI is facing up to the two major challenges of our time," explains Dominic Rudi, Chief Development Officer of the GBI Group: "We want to create urgently needed property offers - especially in the residential sector - and at the same time turn the negative impacts of our actions into positive effects. We are on the right track here and will continue along this path." Rudi refers to current flagship projects, such as two construction projects in sustainable timber frame construction in southern Germany: 62 flats in Hersbruck in Bavaria and 41 units in Ehningen in the Stuttgart metropolitan region. Both projects are also publicly subsidised and the local rent is generally 25 to 50 percent higher. Legal requirements - such as limited rent increases or the restriction to residents with a certificate of eligibility - apply for the entire commitment period, in Ehningen even over 40 years.

"Because we rely on the renewable raw material wood from sustainable forestry, this is an important building block for future-oriented, circular construction," says Rudi: "Because wood binds carbon in the long term." Photovoltaic systems at both sites also ensure a renewable power supply. In Ehningen, GBI also relies on extensively greened roof areas including rainwater retention. BayernHeim GmbH is the owner in Hersbruck and Catella Real Estate AG is the owner in Ehningen with a sustainable investment fund. Rudi: "We therefore have extensive experience with social impact investing of this kind."

About the GBI Group:
GBI is one of the leading German property developers that focuses on subsidised and freely financed apartments, serviced apartments, hotels, student accommodation, micro apartments and concepts for senior living. Founded in 2001, GBI has realised real estate projects in Germany and Austria with a total investment volume of 1.6 billion euros in the past five years alone. Over 7,500 units have been handed over to investors. The company has secured a further 1.3 billion in sales volume (GDV) for its development pipeline. Future construction projects will be completed in accordance with the DGNB Gold Standard or EH40/QNG requirements. GBI Capital, which is part of the GBI Group, comprises the areas of investment management, fund and asset management as well as funding consulting. GBI Capital has over 450 million euros of assets under management in several fund mandates. The shareholder of GBI is the private real estate fund manager Henderson Park from Great Britain. http://www.gbi.ag

About the ICG:
The Institute for Corporate Governance in the German Real Estate Industry (ICG) has been working since 2002 to professionalise the real estate industry and sees itself as a think-and-do tank. The Institute's central themes are values, standards and sustainability. The focus is on the development, implementation and enforcement of standards for sustainable, value-orientated corporate management. To implement these standards, the ICG regularly organises events, best practice workshops and working groups for decision-makers, publishes guidelines, trains supervisory boards and promotes diversity on boards. www.icg-institut.de 

About Immo2.Zero:
On the initiative of DENEFF, over 40 pioneering companies from the property sector (portfolio holders, project developers and some service providers) come together in a network at the Immo2.Zero practice forum. Structured into five working groups, practical examples, challenges, new solutions and approaches to climate protection in and around buildings will be discussed in a variety of formats. More information and an overview of the participating companies can be found at: www.immo2zero.de. DENEFF was founded in Berlin in 2011 and, as an industry network with over 240 members, stands for an ambitious energy efficiency policy. Find out more about DENEFF at: www.deneff.org

Press contact:
GBI Group:
Wolfgang Ludwig, Ludwig Medien & Kommunikation,
Tel.: +49 221 – 29219282, Fax: +49 221 – 29219283, Mobile: +49 171 – 93 35 134,
E-Mail: mail@ludwig-km.de

ICG:
Martina Rozok,
Tel.: +49 170 23 55 988
E-Mail: m@rozok.de

DENEFF e.V.  (Immo2.Zero):
Christian Noll, Geschäftsführender Vorstand
Tel.: +49 (0) 30 36 40 97 01, Mobile: +49 (0) 179 149 5764
E-Mail: christian.noll@deneff.org