European real estate sector faces dearth of ESG expertise

Much of the task of implementing ESG will fall to asset and property managers but Europe may be facing a shortage of skills.

“There are plenty of challenges but the one which worries me most is the resourcing,” said Andy Hay, managing director, EMEA property management, Colliers. “Whether it’s to deliver what’s coming down through the new taxonomy or the new EU regulations, it is going to require huge numbers of trained, experienced people,” he said.

Talking to Real Asset Insight’s Richard Betts he said that simple calculations suggest a requirement in the order of 7,000 to 10,000 people across the industry.

“As far as I’m aware, at the moment those skill sets don’t exist in that number, so I could see that being a real challenge for us over the coming years.”

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