Sustainability has been an integral part of Deka Immobilien for many years and shapes everything we do. Deka Immobilien pursues its own sustainability strategy in line with the Deka Group’s overarching sustainability strategy, based on the guiding principle “Sustainable together. With good reason.”
As the Deka Group’s real estate specialist, our aim is to be a leading provider of products with sustainability features. In doing so, we attach great importance to sustainable standards and take our responsibility towards future generations seriously. Our fiduciary mandate obliges us to manage our investors’ funds by pursuing economically, environmentally and socially sustainable business practices. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are consistently incorporated into our investment and management decisions as well as into our corporate strategy.
Mitigating global warming is a key challenge for us. The real estate sector plays a pivotal role in this, as it has the greatest impact on the 'E' (environment) pillar of ESG: properties account for around 40% of global energy consumption and 30% of CO₂ emissions.
This is why our approach to sustainability places particular emphasis on environmental measures. With our portfolio of over 550 properties, we have significant leverage and can make a substantial contribution.
Our aim is to reduce the environmental footprint of our properties continuously through innovative solutions, and to operate in a climate-neutral manner by 2050.
As a responsible company, we not only focus our sustainability strategy on combating climate change, but also attach great importance to adapting to its consequences. Why is this important?
In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to a climate-neutral economy, the reality of climate change requires us to prepare for its unavoidable consequences. Extreme weather, rising temperatures and changing environmental conditions affect both society as a whole and the real estate sector directly. That is why we are strengthening our real estate's resilience and developing strategies to adapt to increasing climate‑related challenges. At the same time, we are minimising risks by performing targeted analyses and enacting preventive measures.
Strong, clear frameworks, accountability, and a persuasive, principled stance define good corporate governance.
We hold ourselves accountable through voluntary commitments and systematic procedures.
We are dedicated to transparency, integrity and sustainable growth within the industry.
Good corporate governance is embedded in our daily operations at Deka Immobilien. We rely on clear responsibilities, decentralised implementation and effective control mechanisms. The Deka Group’s ESG governance framework and the established three lines of defence model are the foundation for this. The latter is a tiered monitoring system consisting of operational implementation, supervisory control and independent auditing, which defines roles, responsibilities and processes across all areas of the company.
We aim for governance that facilitates streamlined decision-making, with well-defined roles to prevent conflicts and ensure oversight, underpinned by subsidiarity and the pursuit of the common good. As part of the German Savings Banks Financial Group (Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe), we are guided by this high standard and also by our Code of Ethics.
In our risk assessment approach, we include ESG risks as an integral part of our overall risk management . ESG risks can impact business, counterparty, market, liquidity, and operational risks, often affecting the company's reputation. Consequently, they are considered alongside other risk types and not assessed separately. Each property undergoes comprehensive ESG due diligence during the acquisition process, the results of which are then incorporated into the investment decision. At the same time, we have established processes for systematically identifying and centrally coordinating ESG risks in order to ensure consistent assessment and management across all areas. We are developing a systematic climate risk monitoring system for existing properties to continuously address opportunities and risks.
A solid foundation of teamwork and mutual understanding is key to sustainable alignment. That is why we follow international standards and actively contribute to industry initiatives. We regularly report on key sustainability figures and ESG measures at product and company levels. As an active member of the professional associations: ZIA (Zentraler Immobilien Ausschuss e. V.), the BVI (Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management e. V.) and the ICG (Institut für Corporate Governance in der deutschen Immobilienwirtschaft e. V.), we contribute our expertise to the development of uniform standards and work together with other companies to advance sustainable change in the real estate sector.
We are committed to international standards such as the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In addition, we explicitly exclude investments in controversial business divisions and companies with serious ESG violations.
We ensure the protection of human and labour rights in our fund products through a binding procedure that is compliant with international standards. We reject all forms of discrimination and actively support diversity. Our procedure for ensuring minimum social protection takes account of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
We also use this process to actively combat bribery and corruption and to promote transparency in all of our business processes. The procedure includes a declaration of compliance with the minimum level of protection, a risk analysis to identify and assess possible negative effects and measures to avoid, eliminate or minimise them. The results are shared, leading to the development of specific action areas. We work together with our business partners and service providers to ensure compliance with the minimum protection regulations along the entire supply chain.
