BUSINESS
Being green
NOT SO PASSIVE HOUSE
PwC hopes a recent acquisition will help make it the sustainable development leader. Can it make the fight against climate change profitable?
OECD data
RESTRICTIVE RETAIL CHINA - 4,58 LUXEMBOURG - 4,28 BELGIUM - 3,74 FRANCE - 3,11 GERMANY - 2,67 UNITED STATES - 2,63 EU AVERAGE - 2,43 UK - 2,03 RUSSIA - 1,94 BRAZIL - 1,77 SWEDEN - 0,50
LAURENT ROUACH AND JEAN-FRANÇOIS CHAMPIGNY: say PwC has the technical and financial savvy to make eco-friendly investments a success
Luxembourg ranks worst in the EU and second worst globally in retail sector over-regulation, according to a recent OECD study. Of the countries surveyed, only China has higher barriers to entry in retail trade. The Grand Duchy also has the most restrictive professional services market aside from South Africa. www.oecd.org
TAX TREATY REFRESH
Since January, revised double taxation agreements with Iceland, the Netherlands and Switzerland have officially gone into effect. The government also asked the Chamber of Deputies to approve revamped agreements initialled with seven jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, Panama and Sweden. www.impotsdirects.public.lu
WASTE NOT
Luxembourg residents are the most supportive in Europe of “pay as you go” garbage collection fees. According to a European Commission survey, 88% said they preferred paying an amount related to the quantity of waste their household generated, rather than taxes. Only 47% in Portugal supported the idea. www.ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/
Olivier Minaire
least restrictive = 0
The Grand Duchy’s sustainable development sector saw a big boost in visibility with the March 31 acquisition of engineering firm PROgena by PwC Luxembourg. With climate change and socially responsible investing ever higher on business and government agendas, the blended PwC team says it will offer investors the combined technical and financial services needed to ensure green investments are profitable. In the next few years, a plethora of new European regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and waste reduction will come into effect, notes Laurent Rouach, founder of PROgena and now sustainability partner at PwC Luxembourg. At the same time, Jean-François Champigny, sustainability director at PwC Luxembourg notes it is already “obligatory for all CAC 40 listed companies” to produce environmental and sustainability reports. “We are sure it will also become obligatory” across Europe, eventually even for smaller firms. Most pressing for the real estate sector are the “passive house” requi-
rements that buildings generate nearly as much energy as they consume. Rouach says his fi rm, although large for Luxembourg, was often perceived as too small by real estate developers and fund managers. When PwC carried out its sustainable buildings survey last year, he was impressed with the calibre of people he met and its client base in the real estate funds market. While PwC could have tried to enhance its technical skills internally, purchasing PROgena “was the fastest way to acquire the relevant competencies, and the fastest way to be relevant in the industry,” says Champigny. The new group’s goal? “We want to be in the position to demonstrate to investors that a green building is better than investing in a non-green building,” he says. Since PROgena can certify buildings under French, German, UK and US rules, he says the new Luxembourgbased team will be able to address client challenges worldwide. “We are very confident we will become one of the centres of AG excellence in the field.”
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04.05.2011 18:34:03 Uhr