Taking place at Bruun & Hjejle offices, the afternoon started with Jakob Norman-Hansen and Rasmus Grosen Olsen providing their main takeaways from the recent inaugural C Change Summit which they both attended in Rotterdam on 12^th October. A shared reflection was that the industry still lacks a common framework across countries as well as parts of the industry, e.g., between developers and investors, and the involvement of debt financers.

Another major theme was the absence of clarity on how to price carbon into valuations and practical know-how on financial modeling, the cost of carbon and the transition risk. While there was focus on the investors’ risk of getting stuck with undesirable assets, Rasmus Grosen Olsen reminded the audience that the transition also brings decarbonisation opportunities overlooked by others.

Following the debrief from the C Change Summit, Rasmus Grosen Olsen explained the events leading up to the introduction of mandatory LCA assessments and emission caps in the Danish building code from 2023. Starting with the establishment of Green Building Council Denmark (“GBCDK”) in 2010 and its adaptation of DGNB to the Danish market, the public sector body SBi (“Statens Byggeforskningsinstitut) was able to form the basis for future legislation using LCA data from GBCDK.

Finally, Rasmus Grosen Olsen ended the session by offering his view on how this close link between DGNB and the national building code will help achieve increased transparency. The close link found in Denmark between the DGNB certification, the building code and the EU taxonomy is a model for other countries to follow to achieve brick to portfolio transparency, which is not an end goal in itself but necessary to ensure action.

The afternoon ended with a Q&A session followed by discussion and networking over drinks. Thank you to Bruun & Hjejle for hosting, to the speakers Rasmus Grosen Olsen and Jakob Norman-Hansen, and to everyone who attended and made it an insightful event.