Developers, investors need to ‘be together’ on ESG: Zalando

Developers and investors should be “ahead of the game” when implementing ESG measures , according to German online retailer Zalando’s vice-president of real estate and logistics network expansion Raimund Paetzmann.

Paetzmann said that simply replacing everything with wood is not the solution. “We could actually, with a change of material, reduce emissions by almost 38% with only 12% more cost,” he said.

“But we would expect developers and investors to look into it and really be together on the path of more carbon neutrality and construction.”

ESG, diversity and carbon neutrality are important factors for Zalando. During an interview with Real Asset Insight’s Richard Betts , Paetzmann described ESG as “close to my heart, and it’s close to our heart in Zalando”.

He added that the social aspects of ESG are also important and the working conditions of employees in warehouses can be further improved. Paetzmann believes Zalando already performs well in that regard, but it could improve further.

In terms of diversity, Paetzmann says: “In Zalando, we have a pretty diverse environment, but in the real estate industry, I think we have to do more to become more diverse.”

Please click on the video above to watch the full interview or listen to the podcast below.