3. Building differently: the drive for a circular economy approach

The logistic sector has undergone significant changes over the last few years. Whilst previously, the activity had been pushed out of city centres, making way for office and residential developments, the exponential rise in e-commerce has meant that demand for logistics has risen sharply and the need to bring back urban logistics structures into our cities has once again resurfaced.   Bringing back urban logistics into our cities affects the ecosystem of our metropolises. In this episode of Real Catch Up, Oliver Wissel, Director of European Logistics and Industrial Advisory at BNP Paribas Real Estate talks through the way in which urban logistics is being integrated into our cities. From vertical buildings to repurposing empty retail shops, the adding of logistics structures is being done creatively in order to best serve an ever-demanding consumer, all whilst respecting the environment. How then to manage the added challenges associated with more delivery vehicles or getting the product to the consumer in record time?   Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The world around us continues to change at a rapid pace, and the real estate sector is no exception. In this episode of Real Catch Up, Central London Investment Senior Director, Larry Young speaks to us about how opportunities in the real estate investment market have changed and the trends and opportunities available to investors.   A growing desire for sustainable investment products is changing market fundamentals as the importance of ESG (Environmental Social Governance) and sustainable development take up a bigger and bigger place in real estate portfolios.  This combined with the fact that the assets investors are interested in is changing, driven by a diversification of investment portfolios and transportation projects in major cities such as the Grand Paris Express in Paris and Crossrail in London, means that the cities that we live in have been impacted. With investment being channelled into a variety of asset classes such as healthcare and logistics, the way in which cities are built and interacted with is shifting in line with investor interest.   With investors from across the world interested in the investment opportunities in Europe, cities are only going to continue to evolve, affected by challenges related to ESG, renewable energy and the environment.   Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The Covid crisis significantly changed our working lives. Whilst previously the home office took up little space within it, successive lockdowns allowed workers to see the benefit of flexible working and the ability to work from different locations.   The development of remote working has reinforced the need to change our working behaviours, giving way to a more flexible way of organising of time.   However, this organisation has now created a major challenge for companies. How to rethink offices in order to encourage employees back to the office?   In this episode, Csongor Csukás, Head of International Property Management explains how he believes that offices must now take inspiration from the retail sector, in what he dubs the “e-office” concept. Optimising services, strengthening the relationship between home and the office and ensuring that when people come to the office, they appreciate a new type of experience are just some of what is deemed as essential in the next era of our offices.   Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The way in which a city is built and evolves is influenced by many different stakeholders.  More and more, investors are becoming involved in projects to revitalise metropolises from an early stage, having an influence on how real estate projects are built, in collaboration with the other actors.   In addition, investors are now expanding their investment choices and policies. They strive to diversify their portfolios, adding assets that are resilient, greener or respond to the new realities of our society, including social assets such as educational and health institutions.   As Laurent Ternisien, Chief Client Officer of BNP Paribas REIM and CEO of BNP Paribas REIM Luxembourg explains in this episode of Real Catch Up, this new investment dynamic is not only changing the setup of the real estate market but also the future of our cities.   Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Urban life means travelling from A to B, via C, D and E. Depending on the weather, time of day or mood, people will opt for different means of getting to where they need to be. Combine this with a growing consciousness for the pollution generated by the choices that we make, and you’ll find that cities across Europe have seen an exponential rise in greener options including electric bikes, scooters and cars, fuelled in part by businesses offering these solutions to their employees.   Driven by these new challenges, BNP Paribas Real Estate, in partnership with Arval, chose to set up a “mobility hub” at METAL 57 in Boulogne-Billancourt, demonstrator of the company's know-how. In this episode of Real Catch Up, Karen Brunot, Marketing and Digital Director at Arval tells us about why more and more companies are choosing to offer employees sustainable commuting options and how BNP Paribas Real Estate worked with Arval to create a tailor-made solution.   Head of Corporate Services at BNP Paribas Real Estate then explains why offering services to clients that respond to the fast-paced world that we live in, is crucial to bridging the gap between our professional and personal lives and how such solutions can be developed by companies looking to rethink their urban mobility policy in a sustainable manner.   Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Investing responsibly in real estate has become a growing area of interest for investors, as they align their own values with a world that is more conscious than ever before of the actions that affect our planet.   With an increasing drive for sustainable investment, its follows that buildings are more than ever able to demonstrate their ESG (Environmental Social Governance) commitments. Indeed, a growing area of focus is now for buildings that can be renovated, and as such improve their carbon footprint.   Such strategies help to build a city that is more resilient and committed to the objectives set out by the Paris Accord and governments across the world. Find out more in this episode of Real Catch Up with Nehla Krir, Head of Sustainability and CSR.   Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

With more than two-thirds of the world's population due to live in cities by 2050, and faced with the potentially alarming consequences caused by global warming, the need to expand on biodiversity integration in cities is becoming crucial.  Private and public actors are as such including biodiversity in their sustainability strategies, both in terms of the design and construction of a building and also for the development policy of a city. But what exactly does biodiversity mean?   In this episode of Real Catch Up, Global Head of Sustainable Development/ CSR, Catherine Papillon explains why integrating biodiversity into real estate projects is now more vital than ever.   Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The real estate sector, as a significant producer of waste, and as such the carbon footprint has in recent years been putting in place measures to reduce the use of natural resources, and in doing so favour a circular economy approach.   As Deputy Managing Director, Head of Business Development Europe, Grégoire Tripon works to change the way in which resources are consumed by occupiers in buildings and how waste is managed.  With the circular economy now establishing itself as a very present part of our lives and consumption habits, whether that’s choosing products with less packaging or buying a refurbished mobile phone, it is only logical that the real estate sector also changes. The careful reusing of materials therefore must take into account the feasibility of materials, their history and the way in which carbon emissions can be reduced. Indeed, the circular economy fits into an over-arching sustainability strategy which works to reduce emissions and promote positive climate actions, reflecting the world around us and the increasingly blurred boundaries between our personal and professional lives.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Human nature at its core is fickle. People change, and their needs, ways of living, interacting and working constantly shift. How then can we construct buildings that bend and adapt to ever-evolving needs and changes that are not always easy to predict?   Reversibility in real estate is the ability to transform buildings in a way that doesn’t involve pulling down structures and starting from scratch. Instead, buildings can be built to shape shift over time.   Thinking of real estate projects in this way ultimately means optimising each square metre and creating places that everyone can enjoy, and that stand the test of time. This capitalises on the environmental and social value of a building and cements its roots in a city that must now open itself up wider to new exchanges, protect itself against what the future might hold and harness the power of each and every space within it.   In this episode of Real Catch Up, Séverine Chapus, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Property Development (Commercial & Residential) in charge of Development explains why we must think about office real estate in the same way as the world of distribution and consumption. Square metres must be useful and fight back against their obsolescence.   Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Land scarcity and diminishing natural resources are pushing real estate developers to rethink how to build and revitalise our cities.   When it comes to emblematic and historical buildings, there is an increasing desire to preserve the past of these places, bringing them into the current time, in a way that modernises and allows for the new ways of using buildings to be accentuated.   METAL 57, demonstrator of BNP Paribas Real Estate’s know-how is an example of how an emblematic building has been transformed into a structure that sits perfectly in its surroundings.  In this episode of Real Catch Up, Caroline Sainderichin, Deputy Managing Director, in charge of tertiary production, retraces the history of the building and the transformation from a Renault factory and an event space into a mixed-use office building. By preserving the original elements of the building and even recreating the emblematic sheds, METAL 57 preserves its history while metamorphing into an iconic place capable of generating rich experiences within the sustainable city.   Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.