Launching the GADB Platform Research Project

Background

It all started in the spring of 2023 with the spark of an idea. The basis was the same as for many of our research team's current projects: the real estate sector is pivotal in mitigating climate change. We understand well that swift and substantial action is needed beyond what we currently see — we’re talking about systemic changes.

EU Taxonomy: a risk or an opportunity?

If we stick to business as usual, just layering EU taxonomy on top of current real estate operations, we risk a drop in business profitability. Moreover, there’s a gap in EU Taxonomy's market interpretation. As we talked with many real estate and finance companies in the Spring of 2023, we heard many industry players doubting their fears: will EU Taxonomy be just a consultancy exercise? On the flip side, there's a tremendous demand for credible green investment products in international capital markets, offering cheaper green financing. For Finnish companies that are sustainability and digital forerunners, this represents an incredible opportunity.

Digital solution to decarbonise real estate with green financing

The green financing market has exploded in recent years, but it's not without issues like greenwashing. Regulations have been scrambling to catch up. We saw a ripe field for research and business potential for Finnish companies leading in sustainability and digital innovation. So, we began fleshing out a research idea: how can we use digital means to profitably and verifiably make low-carbon investments in real estate portfolios through green financing?

Validating the market demand

Meeting with numerous companies confirmed the timeliness and importance of our idea. It was easy to set up meetings, and some companies even contacted us after a LinkedIn post! We learned that the 'greenness' of a property is already dividing the real estate investment market; non-green properties are finding fewer takers.

Forming the consortium and securing funding

In the end, nine companies, an impressive feat in a tough market, were excited to join our project. We secured Business Finland financing in October 2023, and the kickoff meeting at the end of the month was buzzing with enthusiasm and an excellent consortium spirit!

Our research exchange to RMIT University, Australia, kicked off simultaneously, laying a fertile ground for international collaboration, covering legal and economic angles and connecting with the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub.

Current progress & the journey ahead

What’s happening now? We’ve initiated our first case studies, and international research collaborations are underway — confirming that this is a globally relevant research (and practical!) problem.

This blog will share how the research progresses, offering sneak peeks at preliminary findings and contributions. So, stay tuned, and welcome aboard!