Martin, we hear the catchphrase ‘sustainability’ all the time. What have you got to say about the topic?

When we talk about sustainability, it is often only in relation to ecology, i.e. its environmental aspects. However, the concept of sustainability is based on three pillars: ecology, economy and social issues, all in connection with sustainable corporate management. Only with intelligent concepts in all of these areas can we claim that we act sustainably. And long-term effects can only be achieved if all aspects are given similar attention.

As a family business, AM ALPHA thinks long-term and acts across generations. Sustainability is therefore a living part of our corporate culture and management. We accept our social responsibilities – to our employees and their families, to our fellow investors and contractors, and to the cities in which we operate and the citizens that live there. The topic of sustainability is, thus, not new to us. What is new, however, is how it is discussed or which reporting obligations have to be fulfilled.
 

We try to reduce or even avoid the negative effects on the environment through clearly defined company guidelines. This means using green electricity at our locations and for our properties, avoiding business trips wherever possible, offering employee bicycles, paperless offices and optimised waste management. We continuously verify, supplement and improve all of these measures – after all, sustainability means continuous improvement.

This is why we are also a ClimatePartner-certified company. By transparently disclosing our company's climate protection strategy, including the carbon footprint, the reduction targets, the reductions implemented and the financial contribution to climate protection projects worldwide, we ensure that we continuously improve.
In addition to this we have launched projects outside of our offices through which we can make a major contribution to improving the climate. As part of the real estate industry we contribute a significant share of CO₂ emissions, so we have started looking at the other end of the spectrum, namely forests. Today, we support the "Waldlife" initiative in our home region and international projects in Africa.

Sustainability, which is primarily based on the fulfilment of defined ESG criteria, has always been part of our business model. We want to achieve the greatest possible impact with the buildings we manage - even with properties that are not top-rated energetically. The focus of our investments is on the return, but also always on the social and ecological impact that it has. This does not necessarily mean sacrificing returns; instead it gives the capital added importance.

We also want to create value from an ESG point of view. There are many properties on the market that can make a positive contribution - precisely because they still need smart concepts, such as retro fitting. In our opinion this is a very powerful lever to make sustainable progress with ESG factors.

As I said, it is always about the combination of ecology, economy and social issues; the E cannot stand alone without the S and G. Sustainability requires a holistic approach and only then can it be effective.

In a company like AM ALPHA, present in the major cities of Europe and Asia with a multicultural workforce, diversity is essential. Neither gender nor orientation have ever been relevant to us. We have always understood something much more important, namely that the motivation of our employees is the decisive element to our success. And how is one motivated? Through personal responsibility, independent decision-making and action. If someone is to develop, they need space to do so. We give our people this space and the security of never being alone. We are proud of being a super-functioning team with flat hierarchies. This creates something that forms a crucial part of the S: satisfaction. And we nurture this feeling of satisfaction with incentives such as company bicycles or subsidies for day care centres and creches to make it a little easier to combine family and work.

This is also something we take very seriously. We work in a very privileged environment which makes us all the more responsible for future generations. It does not matter whether we are talking about the design of attractive living spaces or the respectful handling of historical heritage, social contribution is an indispensable part of our work. It crystallizes in our efforts to help the particular city look forward in line with the megatrends in urbanisation, clean energy, mobility and district-oriented infrastructure.