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As developers strive to deliver ever more interesting, highly specified, and sustainable office complexes, the inside and outside of the building have become part of the same concept design process.
In the current environment, resource use and accurate data reporting of it are an increasingly central role of the property management of an asset. Furthermore, certification should move beyond design intent and point-in-time labels. It should increasingly reflect actual energy use, carbon (both embedded and emissions), indoor environmental quality, resilience, controllability, data quality and operational management over the building lifecycle. The market increasingly needs proof of performance, not only proof of specification, says Hubert Abt, CEO of Workcloud24.
Norbert Szircsák, head of sustainability services at Colliers Hungary, stresses the importance of interior elements in contemporary office complexes.
“Flexible and adaptable floor plates, together with health and well-being considerations, are also becoming major design drivers. Increasingly, office environments are viewed as tools for attracting and retaining talent. Natural daylight, indoor greenery, high indoor air quality, and amenity-rich communal spaces are valued not only as sustainability features but also as contributors to employee well-being, productivity, and workplace engagement,” he notes.
The role of PM and FM firms is increasingly complex and specialized, with a growing need for accurate, transparent ESG-related data reporting.
“An asset’s long-term value depends not only on investments that mitigate climate risks, but also on the building’s operational performance and the cost savings achieved through effective facility management,” says Henrietta Budai, sustainability manager at CPI Hungary.
“Property managers play a key role in engaging tenants through initiatives such as green leases, while facility managers provide performance data and translate sustainability objectives into operational measures. Synergy among these functions is therefore essential to align ESG objectives, tenant and business expectations, and investment needs,” she adds.
Property management teams that fail to integrate ESG considerations are unlikely to remain competitive. Tenant sustainability requirements increasingly influence leasing negotiations, while green lease provisions are gradually becoming standard practice rather than exceptions. Regulatory compliance and ESG reporting also represent a growing part of the property manager’s responsibilities.
“Facility managers are similarly taking on a broader role. Their responsibilities now extend beyond maintaining building systems to delivering operational efficiency, enhancing occupant comfort, reducing costs, meeting ESG targets, and demonstrating measurable value to occupiers and asset owners,” says Colliers’ Szircsák.
This extends to property sectors beyond office. Industrial also plays a critical role in sustainability, and its impact extends far beyond the real estate itself, in the view of the head of sustainability services.
“From a building perspective, rooftop photovoltaic systems are often an obvious opportunity due to the large roof areas available. Landscaping should focus on supporting biodiversity rather than simply maintaining low-value grassed areas, while rainwater should be collected, reused where possible, and excess water infiltrated into the ground,” Szircsák argues.
“The greatest sustainability impact, however, lies within industrial processes. Process energy consumption and water use often represent the most significant environmental footprint of industrial facilities. Achieving meaningful progress therefore requires not only sustainable buildings but also cleaner energy sources, greater efficiency, and more sustainable water management within manufacturing operations,” he adds.
Residential is the sector that most needs a mindset shift, in the view of Regina Kurucz, managing director of Rewell Consulting. Most new-build residential schemes market themselves as “energy efficient,” but that is not an innovation; it’s simply a regulatory obligation they would have to meet anyway.
Sustainability and well-being certifications have not taken hold in the residential sector in the way they have in the office sector, even though people typically spend more time at home than at their work.
“Embodied carbon remains an important but often overlooked issue, not only in residential developments but even across much of the commercial real estate sector. Other key priorities include increasing green space, enhancing biodiversity, implementing rainwater reuse systems for irrigation, and applying nature-based solutions such as rain gardens to reduce pressure on urban drainage systems,” Kurucz says.
“Energy communities also present a significant opportunity, particularly where excess renewable energy generated by residential developments can be shared with nearby commercial properties. From a social perspective, affordable housing remains one of the most important ESG challenges facing the sector,” she argues.
All three dimensions of ESG are evolving, largely driven by regulatory requirements, argues Budai. These expectations, and their cumulative impacts and consequences, will increasingly shape office buildings throughout their entire lifecycle.
“I mean the requirement for new buildings to be net zero by 2030, the EPBD’s minimum energy performance standards, requirements for on-site solar plants and EV charging infrastructure, the growing focus of the green building schemes on indoor air quality and operational performance, and increasing expectations regarding supplier compliance,” Budai says.
“I hope that cooperation among the different actors across the value chain, from design and construction to property and facility management, will become an essential part of every project from the outset, whether it is a new development or a refurbishment,” she says.
“Beyond regulatory compliance, it is also in building owners’ business interest to create climate-resilient properties that can adapt to changing tenant requirements in the same time. Innovative technologies are already available, but they need to be harmonized effectively to serve this wide range of expectations,” Budai adds.
Kurucz says it is time for sustainability and ESG champions to stand up and be counted.
“Developers who go beyond the regulatory minimum and set their own, stricter expectations for their supply chains have an outsized effect: they are the ones effectively pulling contractors, material suppliers, and subcontractors toward more sustainable practices well before regulation catches up,” she insists.
“In a region like Central Europe, where the supply chain is still building up capacity and know-how around low-carbon and circular materials, this kind of market-led pressure is arguably as important as the taxonomy itself in determining how fast the transition actually happens,” Kurucz concludes.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of September 18, 2026.
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