The demand of sustainable property investments in Germany. An explorative empirical study
| Date | 03 February 2012 |
| Pages | 5-17 |
| Published date | 03 February 2012 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14635781211194773 |
| Author | Henry Schaefer,Christian Gromer,Adriana Neligan |
| Subject Matter | Property management & built environment |
The demand of sustainable
property investments in Germany
An explorative empirical study
Henry Schaefer and Christian Gromer
Dept III (Corporate Finance), Institute of Business Administration,
University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany, and
Adriana Neligan
Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Ko
¨ln, Consult GmbH, Berlin, Germany
Abstract
Purpose – Socially responsible property investments (SRPI) are seen as the emerging trend in
socially responsible investing. The purpose of this paper is to raise the question of whether this trend
is also valid for Germany. The results presented in this article are based on an explorative study
among German institutional investors in the year 2007.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors see the reasons behind the trend of sustainable
building in the climate change and the resulting awareness of the investors on this topic. Likewise, the
authors also see that more investors, predominantly institutional investors, are focusing on the
emerging market for socially responsible investments (SRI). Considering these and the diversified
portfolios of the institutional investors which usually include property investments, the authors are
investigating the demand of these investors for SRPI in Germany. The investigation is based on an
empirical study carried out in 2007 which should be understood as a prolonged insight into the
investment preferences of German institutional investors towards SRI, in general, and SRPI, in
particular.
Findings – The authors found that the market for SRPI is not growing as a result of an increased
interest in SRPI as an emerging asset class, but rather as a consequence of a moderate growth in the
property market. Some institutional investors find severe intransparencies in this emerging segment,
while others do not perceive this new asset class as an attractive investment opportunity.
Practical implications – The empirical study sheds light on the willingness of German
institutional investors to invest in SRI with special reference to SRPI.
Originality/value – The empirical study shows the willingness of institutional investors which
already invested in SRI to invest in SRPI, as well as the reluctance of investors with no experience in
SRI to invest in SRPI.
Keywords Germany, Propertyinvestment, Social responsibility,Sustainable property,
Institutionalinvestors, Asset allocation
Paper type Technical paper
1. The “greening” of properties – opportunities and impe diments for
investors and the financial industry
Demand for socially responsible investments (SRI) has increased due to a growing
acceptance of social responsibility and sustainable development by organizations and
corporations across all business sectors. This demand is further strengthened by the
growing evidence in academic research that SRI and corporate social responsibility
(CSR) programs do not result in inferior financial performance compared to conve ntional
investment and business practices (United Nations Environment Program
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1463-578X.htm
Sustainable
property
investments
5
Journal of Property Investment
& Finance
Vol. 30 No. 1, 2012
pp. 5-17
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1463-578X
DOI 10.1108/14635781211194773
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