One of the most hotly debated topics these days is people’s ongoing search for ways to cut their energy usage. Because for some regions and cities, gas prices have gone up by easily 100% within the year, or even just a couple of months, the increase in energy prices has become a financial threat even to the middle class.

The climate crisis is now a reality that is having an increasingly tangible impact, forcing consumers, politicians and businesses to reduce emissions as drastically and as quickly as possible.

One of the main reasons why the real estate industry is lacking behind in terms of digitalisation is that incumbents, due to constantly rising real estate prices, used to make money in their sleep, thereby smothering any need to improve and evolve.

The real estate ecosystem is heavily exposed to all kinds of climate change related physical risks and regulators around the globe are increasing the pressure on making these risks transparent, potentially leading to severe consequences for real estate owners in valuations and interest rates, and even creating stranded assets.

Digital solutions must be designed for the construction industry and solve an indispensable problem. Proven concepts from other industries rarely work in the construction industry. Retrofitting the building stock is the most important lever for achieving the German government’s climate targets for the real estate industry. Current methods and means are not sufficient to achieve this goal in a timely manner.