After two years break on account of Covid-19 and sundry issues, Real Estate Unite (REU) summit, an annual event hosted by 3Invest Limited, has returned and will be holding this month with a special focus on sustainability culture.
A statement by the company obtained by BusinessDay says this year’s event already slated for May 30 and 31, 2022 expects over 1000 participants who will be leveraging the platform to network, learn, transact, showcase and discuss opportunities and issues in global real estate.
The statement notes that, technically, the land construction and real estate sector is one of the most influential globally, talking in terms of its impact on the health and wellbeing of people and the environment.
“The real estate sector is responsible for 40 percent of all carbon emissions globally; the sector has the obligation as well as the opportunity to make an extraordinary impact in creating a healthier, safer and cleaner planet,” Ruth Obih, 3Invest’s CEO, explained.
Obih reasoned that, for inclusive, economic growth and shared prosperity, the built environment must, as a matter of urgency, begin to take the lead in the planning, designing and managing more resilient and sustainable communities.
To achieve this, she said, “REU Summit has been redesigned to address the global challenges and encourage the built environment in Africa to embrace the sustainability culture.”
She believes that getting the real estate players to embrace sustainability is a collective goal, disclosing that their plan at 3Invest was to create a community of stakeholders who were passionate about sustainable development and culture. He added that they encouraged education and participation in sustainability-related activities.
Read also: How Buildzone Housing is transforming real estate with innovation
She said that they were also out to recognise organizations that were taking the lead in sustainability and lobby for environment sustainability goals (ESG) regulations, policies and better incentives for this community.
“The built sector has a substantial sustainability impact through land development, resource use, waste generation and labour practices throughout its life cycle. The sector impacts either directly or indirectly the implementation of almost all United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” she said.
This year’s edition of the summit, which is the 10th in the series and would also be looking at issues of climate technology, sustainability and ESG. The summit has a theme, ‘Towards a Sustainable Culture.’
“For the SDG goals to be achieved, we must encourage companies operating in the built sector and those that invest in, commission and use land and built assets to widen the scope of their current policies and strategies by identifying resilient options, business opportunities and operational challenges relating to all UN Global Compact issue areas,” Obih said.
The Summit which is regarded as one of the first-ever sustainability events in the African real estate sector will, among other things, identify the global challenges and issues relating to sustainability in the built environment and explore the strategy and practice of incorporating SDG and ESG factors in investment decisions. It will also recognize organizations embracing a sustainable culture.
Expected at the event are Stanbic IBTC, Broll, Mixta Africa, Address Homes, Elalan, Haven Homes, Lekki Gardens, Afriland Properties, Dutum Construction, Purple, UPDC, Landwey, Karmod, Home works, Nedcom Oaks and Clifton Homes, Ghana.
