Grażyna Kuźma, Counsel in the Real Estate Practice, analyzes various aspects of green real estate financing in an article published in Contact Magazine Online by the British-Polish Chamber of Commerce.
The real-estate sector accounts for about 40% of the EU’s energy consumption and 36% of its CO2 emissions, making it a critical focus area for sustainable finance initiatives. As the EU accelerates its environmental agenda through regulations like the Taxonomy, the CSRD, and the SFDR, financial institutions are developing various green financing instruments for real estate. However, the line between genuine sustainable financing and greenwashing remains blurred. In this article I present the spectrum of green real estate financing options, their regulatory foundations, and the challenges in distinguishing authentic sustainability efforts from mere marketing/PR exercises.
The EU Taxonomy provides the regulatory foundation for real-estate green finance. The EU Taxonomy Regulation establishes specific technical screening criteria for buildings to be considered environmentally sustainable. Consequently, for real estate financing to qualify as ‘green’, property must meet stringent requirements:
- New construction: primary energy demand must be at least 10% lower than nearly zero-energy building (NZEB) requirements
- Existing buildings: for buildings built before December 2020 – Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) class A, or among the top 15% of the national building stock
- For buildings built after December 2020: Meeting the criteria for new construction
- Renovation: either achieving 30% energy savings or complying with applicable requirements for major renovations under national implementations of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
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The full text of the article by Grażyna Kuźma, Counsel in the Real Estate Practice, is available in the latest issue of the Contact Magazine Online: Real Estate & Construction – No. 68 (163), 2025, published by the British-Polish Chamber of Commerce.