CBRE is investing in Fifth Wall’s Climate Technology Fund.
CBRE has been investing in the real estate venture capital firm’s sustainability fund since 2016. It was the founding anchor investor in Fifth Wall and provided funds in part of a $212M capital commitment. Other investors in that initial round included Equity Residential, Host Hotels, Hines, Lennar, Macerich and Prologis, Fifth Wall announced at the time.
CBRE said in a release that it will provide insight into early stage sustainability technology.
“Climate technology development has dramatically increased as a result of a changing regulatory environment, ambitious corporate sustainability targets and other catalysts,” CBRE Chief Digital and Technology Officer Sandeep Davé said in the release.
“We believe technology can make a significant impact on the drive to reach net-zero in the built environment and look forward to investing in the creation of market-changing, innovative technologies that benefit our clients.”
The move comes amid recent surges of venture capital funding into sustainable real estate. Fifth Wall Ventures partner Greg Smithies told Bisnow last year that climate change and a new push toward sustainability is “the largest venture capital opportunity in history.”
The push is inspired in part by new local and federal regulations about sustainability in real estate. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced last week that it gave the initial green light to requiring public companies to publish disclosures on climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions.
“Whether a law is enacted or not, it’s the signal it’s sending to the marketplace,” Building Ventures co-founder Travis Connors told Bisnow previously, speaking about local regulations. “If you’re going to be doing new construction or you’re going to be rehabbing a building, knowing a law like this might come down the road can help change the behavior of what products should we buy and what systems should we put in that building to make sure we’re compliant on day one.”
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