THE NEXT
DISRUPTION COVID-19 Offers an Instructive Exercise for Climate Change Upheaval By Barbara Carss CANADIAN COMMERCIAL real estate assets are comparatively less exposed to the dire physical threats that extreme weather poses or has already served up in other global regions. Industry insiders suggest that could make the COVID-19 pandemic an even more instructive trial run for the ancillary risks the sector is likely to face due to climate change. Brewing calamities will bring economic and 24 April/May 2021 | Canadian Property Management
social upheaval fa r beyond their meteorological track, and a growing pool of investors is look ing for evidence that asset and proper ty managers are prepared to respond. “2020 was a year that saw ESG (environmental, social, governance) reporting move to centre stage. In the same way that, 15 years ago, discussion around LEED certification really morphed from ‘Should we do it?’ to
‘It’s the new norm’ so, too, will ESG r e p o r t i ng b e c o m e a p e r m a n e n t component of our industry,” observed Paul Morassutti, Vice Chair, Valuation and Advisory services, with CBRE Canada, during the online release of the fir m’s 2021 Market Outlook. “Let’s talk about how climate risk could impact underwriting and even capital f lows. Ever y institutional investor pays very close attention to
