The ULI Italy Annual Conference 2021 took place in Milan on 16 June, focusing on ESG criteria and looking at strategies aimed at fostering social value creation within the Real Estate sector.

The ESG acronym is proving to have growing importance within the real estate industry. Accordingly, social value and its quantification are as relevant as environmental and governance viewpoints in defining corporate strategies and communication messaging. In this sense, ESG ranking is essential to promote a switch of paradigm in which investments and assets generate new value, not only for investors but also for society and the environment.

Due to current restrictions, the event was held in a hybrid format, with the Italian panel discussion taking place in Risanamento S.p.a’s headquarters and the international roundtable hosted on a virtual platform.

The event started with a presentation of ULI Europe’s research report “Zooming in on the “S” in ESG: A road map for social value in real estate” by Lisette Van Doorn (CEO, ULI Europe), whose talk analysed the existing social value measurement framework and provided guidance on social value creation in the real estate sector.

During the Italian and international panels, speakers shared their experiences related to the topic with the help of examples and case studies, mentioning best practices apt to face current challenges such as the issue of safety in public open spaces within the urban environment. It also emerged that synergies between private and public sectors are essential to shaping attractive public spaces, and a shared engagement perspective allows to deliver a healthier and more livable urban environment.

The discussion also highlighted what is still to be resolved, such as the need for univocal definitions and assessment methodologies for social value inclusion into a business case, which are in the process of being defined but still not completely achieved.

The conference represented the first occasion of ULI Italy gathering members together after a period of virtual events and saw the active participation of both the online and in-person audience.

Our sincere thanks to all the speakers attending the conference and to our sponsors.

You can now watch the recording here.