A Must-Listen Episode: Navigating the Path to Net Zero

With Andrea Palmer, CEO of CRREM, and Marcel Staub, CEO of Lookthrough. Hosted by Olaf Reinen.

Tune in to the Look Through Lens podcast for a compelling conversation with two key leaders shaping the future of the real estate industry: Andrea Palmer, the recently appointed CEO of CRREM, and Marcel Staub, CEO of Lookthrough.

Discover how their organizations are helping real estate professionals master the challenges of decarbonization and climate risk.

In this insightful episode, you will learn:

• The Power of the CRREM Pathway: Understand why CRREM is at the forefront of helping the industry decarbonize. CRREM's mission is to drive transparency around climate risk and alignment by providing a crucial, forward-looking, science-based trajectory for buildings to improve energy efficiency and stay within a specific carbon budget. CRREM is promoted as the de facto standard for defining the necessary decarbonization curve.

• The Role of Implementation: Hear Marcel Staub explain how Lookthrough, a proud CRREM partner, acts as "where the rubber hits the road". Lookthrough uses the scientific CRREM benchmark to help real estate owners navigate complex portfolios and find cost-effective solutions, ensuring they maintain yield while driving energy efficiency and carbon neutrality.

• The Terminology Shift: Get the exclusive details on why CRREM recently changed the high-profile term "stranding year" to the "CRREM misalignment year". Andrea Palmer explains that this decision was driven by the reality that assets are not typically written down to zero value and to highlight the crucial adaptability and retrofitting potential inherent in real estate investments.

• Decarbonization Challenges and Opportunities: The guests tackle the fundamental challenge: decarbonization must be investable and drive returns. They discuss the difficulty of short asset hold periods conflicting with long payback periods. They also explore exciting opportunities for innovation, including:    

◦ Optimizing energy use based on actual occupancy data rather than just theoretical consumption.    

◦ Matching and optimizing building operation times based on the cleanliness of the electrical grid.

• Essential Advice for Investors: For real estate professionals starting their decarbonization journey, the leaders advise: start simply. Focus on the core principle of materiality to distinguish what matters, and be smart by prioritizing quick wins - changes that are not too expensive, have a relatively short payback, but generate impact.

• Why There's Optimism: Discover why the speakers are optimistic about the future, noting the impressive approaches of banks and private lenders and the fact that capital markets are increasingly recognizing the intrinsic value of cleaner buildings, speeding up the transition by making efficiency projects "a no-brainer".

Listen now to gain a better understanding of the synergy between Lookthrough and CRREM and how this partnership provides the basis for effective climate risk management and profitable energy transition in real estate.

For more, visit CRREM and LookthroughFull transcript is available here.

Real estate’s decarbonization playbook has leaned heavily on LEDs, BMS tweaks, tariffs, and insulation. But these “quick wins” create only the impression of momentum if they delay the big jobs: deep retrofits, electrification, and envelope upgrades. Every year without them means higher future costs, missed OPEX savings, and growing pressure from regulation and capital markets. Delay isn’t neutral — it compounds risk.

The real challenge isn’t setting targets, it’s sequencing pathways.
Net zero pledges are common, but too few portfolios have mapped credible capex timelines. That’s where the cliff edge emerges: a stack of expensive projects hitting at once, without coordination of budgets, lease events, and disruption.

The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and intensifying lender scrutiny are tightening the window. Meanwhile, the evidence is clear: efficient assets deliver green premiums in rent and liquidity, while laggards suffer widening brown discounts.

Owners need portfolio-first plans, not piecemeal projects.
Lookthrough helps by embedding CRREM’s science-based pathways directly into scenario planning, aligning retrofit windows with leasing and lifecycle events, and providing the investment-grade outputs that ICs, lenders, and LPs expect.

Instead of stranded assets and valuation discounts, owners gain executable roadmaps that manage cost, compliance, and value uplift.

👉 Book a demo today and find out what your CRREM-aligned pathway looks like with your own data.

The European real estate market is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), now on it's way to becoming legally binding, is no longer just an aspiration - it's a mandate reshaping property values, financing, and marketability across the EU. Join us as we deep dive into the EPBD's critical requirements, from the ambitious Zero Emission Building (ZEB) standards for new construction to the stringent Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for existing properties.

We'll unpack the crucial deadlines, the digital infrastructure of EPCs and Renovation Passports, and the hard-hitting financial implications for owners and investors, including the very real threat of stranded assets and the opportunities for green finance.

We also explore the systemic challenges of supply chains, grid integration, and the essential social safeguards designed to ensure a fair transition.

Whether you're an owner, investor, developer, or simply interested in the future of European property, this episode will equip you with the essential insights to navigate Europe's green building revolution.

Correction:The statement "60% GHG reduction by 2030 vs 2015.” is incorrect The binding EPBD target is 11.7% cut in final energy use by 2030 vs 2020

In this episode, we explore a practical 10-step guide designed to help real estate owners cut carbon, enhance value, and prepare their portfolios for a sustainable future. From understanding a building’s carbon footprint and setting ambitious goals, to implementing energy efficiency upgrades, renewables, and smart technologies — we break down the strategies for meaningful impact. We’ll also discuss how to engage stakeholders, leverage financial incentives, and harness AI to optimise progress. Tune in for actionable insights that can help you boost value, cut costs, and future‑proof your assets.Download the pdf here.

EPBD: The Real Game-Changer for Europe’s Building Sector, discusses the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and its significant impact on Europe's real estate and construction industries. It explains that the EPBD aims to decarbonise the building stock by 2050 through measures like minimum energy performance standards and a gradual phase-out of fossil fuel boilers.

This podcast discusses who will be affected, including building owners, social housing providers, commercial real estate, and the public sector, and details country-specific examples of compliance. It highlights the benefits of compliance, such as access to green financing and increased property values, while also warning of the risks of non-compliance, including fines and the creation of "stranded assets."

We conclude by emphasising that the EPBD is a call to action for stakeholders to embrace energy efficiency for long-term financial and environmental sustainability.

This podcast episode highlights the critical but often overlooked role of financed emissions—the indirect emissions financial institutions are responsible for via their lending, investing, and underwriting activities. 

These emissions, part of Scope 3, Category 15 under the GHG Protocol, often dwarf a bank’s own operational emissions. With real estate alone accounting for ~40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, banks are increasingly under pressure from regulators, investors, and markets to quantify and reduce the climate impact embedded in their portfolios.

Emerging standards like PCAF and new digital solutions such as Lookthrough’s data-driven simulation tools are helping institutions gain asset-level ESG insights, meet regulatory demands, and avoid stranded asset risk. But progress is hampered by data availability, standard fragmentation, and integration challenges. Despite these hurdles, aligning financial flows with climate goals is fast becoming both a regulatory necessity and a competitive advantage.

In this episode, we address the critical need for UK banks to manage real estate climate risk and the threat of stranded assets in their portfolios. It highlights the Bank of England's 2025 climate disclosure requirements, emphasising the necessity for forward-looking risk management and alignment with the UK's net-zero targets by 2050. We discuss CRREM (Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor) as the industry standard for assessing decarbonisation pathways and explain how Lookthrough, a licensed CRREM partner, offers a simplified, scalable solution for banks to meet regulatory demands. We suggest proactive adoption of advanced analytics to transform climate risk into new business opportunities, stressing the significant financial and reputational costs of inaction.