Oct 13: New research by re:sustain which explores energy efficiency across the real estate investment portfolios of European real estate institutional investors, shows that when asked to choose the two key factors that will accelerate action on poor energy performance, less operational disruption and quicker payback certainty were ranked as the most important.
Re:sustain, the leading science-based technology platform which optimises the energy consumption of real estate assets, surveyed 200 European real estate institutional asset managers in the UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain and Italy, with a combined AUM of €296 billion.
Reducing operational disruption was the most important factor cited by 79% of respondents that they believe will accelerate action to improve the energy performance of their assets. Faster payback certainty was the second most important factor (65%), reflecting the significant upfront investment needed to save some assets from devaluing or becoming ‘stranded’.
Clearer regulatory signals ranked third (55%), highlighting concerns over the complexity of regulations and the need to comply with diverse local, regional and national codes, as well as policy uncertainty as a result of frequent shifts in global climate commitments and unclear enforcement mechanisms.
Better performance verification ranked fourth (40%). Although the majority of respondents (82%) said that the quality of the data collected from across their real estate portfolios is good at helping them identify areas for improvement, only 47% are highly confident when it comes to using it to make capital allocation decisions. Almost half (47%) said they are “quite confident” and 7% said it needs to be used with other analysis, rather than on its own.
Crucially, the research also showed that almost two thirds (62%) of respondents said that only 20-40% of their assets have an up-to-date building management system – a vital tool that significantly helps accelerate the energy performance of buildings, reduces costs and minimises downtime as a result of costly equipment breakdown.
Commenting on the research Katie Whipp, Chief Business Officer at re:sustain, said: “Energy efficiency has moved from a sustainability objective to a core driver of asset performance and resilience. In a more volatile energy environment, institutional investors are not lacking intent – they are constrained by the perceived complexity, distruption, and uncertainty of execution. What our research shows clearly is that the market is prioritising solutions that deliver immediate, measurable outcomes without interrupting operations or requiring significant upfront capital. That is a fundamental shift.
“The ability to optimise energy performance quickly, with high confidence in payback, is now directly linked to net operating income and long-term asset value. The challenge – and opportunity – is turning data into action at scale, and doing so in a way that fits within the operational realities of real estate portfolios.”
re:sustain was founded in 2021 by scientists who recognised that while data was being collected about real estate energy consumption, it wasn’t improving usage. To solve this problem, the re:sustain team developed innovative technology which uses collected building management system data (BMS) to create a highly calibrated digital twin of each building – an accurate model that reflects real asset performance. This dynamic thermal model allows for precise simulations and analyses, eliminating guesswork and enabling targeted interventions.
The proprietary re:sustain engine processes the digital twin data and the BMS data to identify inefficiencies and improvement opportunities, whilst calculating potential carbon savings. This remote approach allows for targeted optimisations and detailed mechanical insights on existing systems, reducing energy use, carbon emissions, and operational costs in support of sustainability goals—all without requiring Capex from asset owners or business interruption for occupiers.
To date, buildings using re:sustain technology have enjoyed 37% average annual energy savings in a process that takes just four to six weeks to implement.