Carolina De Ávila

06/09/2022

01/07/2022

July has arrived. How about starting the month with the promotion of sustainable business? Have you ever think about a partnership between companies and NGOs?

One of our tasks as an ESG consulting is to identify new ways to promote sustainable business, for example, the generation of social impact through business, which benefits both the company and society.

Business is a great vehicle to make the world a better place, as business is made of people - 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙.
Applying ESG practices is a good way to make that happen.

Based on that, I am looking for worldwide NGOs that promote social impact that want to partner with companies. I will be the link between the two entities.

Please, drop us a message if you are interested or know someone who might be interested, and I will get in touch with more details. Any help would be very useful.

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.
Best wishes.

30/06/2022

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲?

If we take the main goal of the United Nations SDGs which is:
A fairer, more dignified, more inclusive and sustainable world;

So, I would say that pride has everything to do with sustainability.

June is Pride month due to the episode that took place on June 28, 1969 called The Stonewall Riots.

After the police raid on the Stonewall Inn bar, people rebelled and the event became known as it marked the beginning of what would be the modern gay liberation movement and the fight for LGBT rights in the country, which continues to this day.

Interestingly, cases of homos*xuality are very old and there were reports since Ancient Greece.

Why is it so important to have a month dedicated specifically to pride? Because there is still a lot of prejudice and injustice.

Once people accept that s*xual orientation does not determine competence or character, and respect the other as he is, then the movement that began in 1969 will have achieved its objective.

The day when people, instead of thinking: he shouldn't marry someone of the same s*x, start saying: I wish him to be happy, the world will start to find the way to peace and sustainable development.

Remember: what is good for one may not be good for another. Each one is unique in their own essence and has the right to exist and be whatever they want, and thus pursue their full potential as a human being.

Finally, a sentence from UN SDGs website:

“We resolve to build a better future for all people, including the millions who have been denied the chance to lead decent, dignified and rewarding lives and to achieve their full human potential.”

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗿, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹.

Best wishes.

27/06/2022

“Using recently available GRESB ESG public disclosure data for REITs around the world, we examine how ESG disclosure is related to REIT debt financing and firm value. We find that REITs with higher levels of ESG disclosure have lower cost of debt, higher credit ratings, and higher unsecured debt to total debt ratio, controlling for key firm characteristics. These findings suggest that improving ESG disclosure can help REITs to gain better access to the capital markets and enhance corporate financial flexibility, as lenders have paid close attention to a firm’s ESG disclosure and integrated evaluation of ESG factors into their lending decisions. Moreover, firm value of REITs is positively associated with their ESG disclosure level.

…Taken together, this paper suggests that effective ESG disclosure can have a positive impact on REIT debt financing and firm value due to the increased corporate transparency, and the ESG reporting framework developed by GRESB appears to be effective to provide transparency and comparability across the global real estate industry. ”

Authors: Zifeng Feng; Zhonghua Wu.

The full article is available here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11146-021-09857-x

24/06/2022

For those who don’t know me, this is me, the face behind the company, last Monday on a train in Switzerland, on my way to Zurich to visit someone with the potential to become a client, more specifically a real estate investment manager who needs to integrate ESG in two ways:
- New acquisitions;
- Buildings (assets) in operation.

My main skills are data analysis and development of sustainability / ESG strategies. Based on this and also in my holistic vision, I help companies to:
- Identify your stage of sustainability;
- Identify opportunities;
- Formulate strategies and implement actions;
- Monitor performance.

The first client visit is important because it is where you will introduce yourself and get to know the person, create a connection, understand the business better and talk about:
- The amount of assets;
- If there are already sustainability strategies, for example: do you have automation? Energy efficiency? Careful when disposing of waste? professional training? labor rights?;
- Desired goals;
- Finally and not less important: what you can do to help - and gain her/his trust.

I believe that the biggest challenge for self-employed people is gaining trust from a stranger. In my case, I am a foreigner in a country where I do not speak the language. I came to Germany on a trip, I liked it, I got the freelance visa due to the people who gave me the opportunity, and here I am structuring myself and expanding my horizons.

From now on, I'll post more about my work, my story and what motivates me so you can have a better understanding of who I am and what I do.

What do we gain from this? I earn your trust and you gain the opportunity to potentiate your business through my work.
On the other hand, I also hope to expand connections where I can serve as inspiration, share experiences and learn from others.

Are you interested and want to chat? Feel free to get in touch. It will be a pleasure to meet new people and create connections.

Have a good day and a wonderful weekend.

23/06/2022

ESG Settles Into the Multifamily Industry
Following are some sentences of the news from MultiHousingNews:

“The most forward-thinking companies are looking at opportunities to do more than just mitigate risk. Rather, ESG can be a way to create value for the full range of stakeholders: capital, community, tenants, and employees.”

ENVIRONMENTAL
"The E facet of ESG isn’t new for multifamily firms, and includes energy efficiency, waste management and water conservation, much of it dictated by code. What’s new is heightened public pressure and new opportunities."

“Health and sustainability are two sides of the same coin. The same qualities that make for green multi-family buildings are also healthier for tenants.”

SOCIAL
"The S in ESG covers multiple facets, including tenant health and financial privacy, staffing and training policies, supply chain and community relations. Human resource practices are key. Policies such as paid sick leave can benefit residents because it reduces the risk of on-site employees feeling like they have to go into work even when sick.”

GOVERNANCE
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion is of growing importance for multifamily organizations and most organizations are considering diversity at all levels of the organization: from C-Suite to on-site staff.”

“Diversity allows for greater thought leadership, understanding and ultimately better business results. A firm with a diverse leadership team will attract diverse recruits who can, in turn, attract diverse tenants reflecting their communities.”

16/06/2022

How is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of your company?

According to UNIDO, CSR is "a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders.”

Regarding the Real Estate Industry, the data show us that there is still a lot to be done:

- Buildings and construction industries emit 38% of CO2 into the atmosphere,
- Falls account for 34% of construction deaths;
- Injury and illness rates in construction were 24% higher on average than across all industries;
- The most aggravating factor regarding corporate governance in the civil construction sector is corruption;
- Women earn 77 cents for every dollar men earn for the same work.

The sector needs strategies such as:

- Reduction of energy demand from the built environment;
- Materials that reduce their life cycle carbon emissions;
- Professional training;
- Equality and equity;
- Governance strategy.

SEVEN has been working helping companies with data collection, development of sustainable strategies, tracking and setting goals, and sustainability reporting.

Feel free to get in touch and check out our website: www.sevensustainability.com

Follow us for more content of ESG in Real Estate.

23/05/2022

Last week we saw Tesla get kicked out of the S&P 500 ESG index.

Although there are no mandatory reporting requirements, voluntary sustainability reporting has increased over the past decade, with 90% of companies in the S&P 500 index issuing some form of sustainability report in 2020.

Sustainability reporting such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) can help you better understand your company's strengths and weaknesses and also give us the path to improve ESG practices.

Through the sustainability reporting you can obtain:

INTERNAL BENEFITS
- Obtain Business Vision and Strategy;
- Define better management systems;
- Identify what employees value;
- Reduction of water and energy consumption.

EXTERNAL BENEFITS
- Strengthening the brand;
- Public trust;
- Attracting investments;
- Stakeholder engagement;
- Competitive advantage.

10/05/2022

Check out the benefits of sustainability implementation.

SEVEN is able to help you regarding the environmental requirements as well as social and governance issues.

We are shaping the real estate industry towards sustainability and net zero goals.