Foreword by the editors
ESG as a solution for the core problems of global change and the implications for the real estate industry
Global change has triggered a process of knowledge and transformation at a rapid pace, especially since the 1980s. The increase in core problems such as climate change, environmental pollution, and social imbalance, especially in emerging and developing countries,1 has led to the idea of sustainability becoming2 established as a global development model.
Probably the best-known definition of the term »sustainable development« dates back to 1987, established by the so-called Brundtland Commission, a special United Nations (UN) commission headed by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. It states that »development that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs« is considered sustainable.3 Taking up this basic idea, the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 set an important course for the importance of sustainable development. Since then, it has been recognized that promoting environmental, social and governance aspects (»ESG«) as equally as possible is the prerequisite for a stable society.
Even though a broad interpretation of environmental and social goals has been established, climate protection measures were subsequently prioritized due to the increasing noticeable consequences of climate change (extreme weather events, floods, etc.).
The Paris Climate Agreement is the first binding climate protection agreement under international law; it was adopted at the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. The almost 190 parties agreed to limit the long-term increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C compared with pre-industrial levels (target: 1.5°C).4
By 2020, the global mean temperature at ground level had already risen by more than 1.2°C compared with 1880.5 Without rapid ambitious action, there is a risk of a significant shortfall in national action plans to implement the Paris climate targets, making the feared instability due to large-scale climate change impacts more likely.
Marc Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, began his landmark speech called »Breaking the tragedy of the horizon – clima