SIGNA Development Selection AG publishes 2021 Sustainability Report

Highlights in 2021

• Green Finance Framework established
• Issue of sustainable financing instruments with a volume of €320m
• Green lease clauses introduced into commercial leases
• Reporting in accordance with GRI Standards: Core option, first-time application of EPRA Sustainability Best Practices Recommendations, and TCFD

Vienna, July 19, 2022 — SIGNA Development Selection AG (“SIGNA Development”) published its 2021 Sustainability Report. Today, people spend around 85% of their life indoors. SIGNA Development presents its approach to this far-reaching responsibility toward its stakeholders in the light of climate change under the heading “Building Responsibly.”

Important steps were taken once again during the past year as part of the ESG strategy “Our sustainable SIGNAture”. Around two-thirds of the sustainability initiatives planned up to 2025 have already been delivered. The focus here is ESG management and the significant progress that has been made in terms of its buildings.

Reduction of greenhouse gases in buildings

SIGNA Development creates sustainable buildings that make a significant contribution to decarbonization whilst still retaining their value over time. At the forefront are the energy-efficient setup, renovation, and management of the projects to ensure a low-emission life cycle.

Important milestones were reached on this basis in 2021, such as the introduction of green lease clauses in commercial leases and the voluntary commitment to perform green building certifications in all development projects.

State-of-the-art building design is a prerequisite for groundbreaking urban and district development. In order to make full use of this leverage in projects, a guide to sustainable and resource-efficient construction was produced for the first time last year, and content will be added on an ongoing basis.

Timo Herzberg, CEO SIGNA Development Selection AG: “We want to make a sustainable contribution to livable cities with holistic, modern, and sophisticated concepts. We will fulfill our responsibility to reduce CO₂ emissions in both existing projects and current construction projects as far as possible in the process. We will achieve this through targeted and long-term measures.”

First sustainable financial instruments issued

The volume of green financing issued by SIGNA Development for the first time in fiscal year 2021 amounted to €320m. The medium-term goal is to cover at least 50% of new financing through sustainable products by 2025.

As the first of several planned issues, SIGNA Development issued a green bond with a volume of €300m in July 2021. This has a term of five years and a yield of 5.5% per annum. In addition, a green profit participation certificate with a volume of €20m was issued in December 2021. The volume of new financing with green finance products thus amounted to around 30% in 2021.

In line with the EU action plan to promote sustainable financing, SIGNA Development has made this a priority. The proceeds of green financing instruments will be used exclusively for sustainable projects. SIGNA’s Green Finance Framework, which was published in May 2021, serves as the basis for this.

SIGNA Development has an excellent ESG rating. The current risk rating from rating agency Sustainalytics is 10.6 (“low risk”).

Introduction of ESG software to collect environmental data

Today, the efficiency of the real estate portfolio is a key success factor when it comes to carefully implementing ESG measures. A software system was introduced in 2021 to collect quantitative and qualitative environmental data on the real estate portfolio. This system made it possible to register the entire portfolio for the first time, which will guarantee continuous improvement and enhancement of data quality.

Further expansion in reporting and governance

The sustainability report was again prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option. The report also serves as progress report as defined by the United Nations Global Compact. Reporting followed the guidelines of the EPRA Sustainability Best Practices Recommendations (EPRA sBPR) specific to real estate for the first time and contains information on the core areas recommended by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

In terms of Corporate Governance and Compliance, in addition to implementing ESG criteria in due diligence transaction processes, new guidelines were also published on sustainability, environment and energy, as well as health and safety in 2021. Furthermore, the SIGNA Holding Compliance Management System (CMS) used in the SIGNA Group was certified in the current year in accordance with international compliance standard ISO 37301.

Positive perception of social commitment

SIGNA Development considers itself a partner for cities. The real estate company develops livable districts and helps increase regional added value in a sustainable way. This understanding is reflected in the new “Strong communities” action area. In the course of a stakeholder survey at the end of 2021, data was collected on how activities were perceived outside the company. The survey elicited a positive response. The majority of stakeholders consulted cited the impact of SIGNA’s business activities on future cityscapes and the character of downtown locations as particularly relevant.

Outlook 2022: Continue to press ahead with decarbonization

Within the framework of the Paris Climate Agreement and the European Green Deal goals, SIGNA Development is gearing its activities toward achieving a net-zero economy. This will be underpinned by a comprehensive carbon footprint and decarbonization strategy for the entire portfolio. Risk assessment and management of climate and sustainability risks will also be at the forefront in the current fiscal year 2022.
 

Sustainability Report 2021

SIGNA Development Selection AG
 

About SIGNA Development Selection AG

SIGNA Development Selection AG (“SIGNA Development”) is one of the largest residential and commercial property developers in Europe, with total assets of approximately €4.6b and Gross Development Value of approximately €8.3b as of year-end 2021.

Operating predominantly in Germany and Austria, the company develops and sells modern, urban and high-quality properties, which are either newly built or redeveloped to a high standard. All of SIGNA Development’s development projects are earmarked for green building certification. A particular focus are large scale multi-use projects, re-developments and conversions, landmark projects as well as residential developments.

In Germany, SIGNA Development’s portfolio includes the Berlin project developments Schönhauser Allee, BEAM and GLANCE, which upon completion will offer modern office and commercial space in central and well-connected locations. In Vienna, it owns a diversified portfolio of urban developments such as the project VIENNA TWENTYTWO.

Additional information is available at www.signa.at
 

Questions?

Robert Leingruber

r.leingruber@signa.at

+43 1 5329848-0