Sweco Impact ensures the productivity of the real estate in the very beginning of the investment
Combining technical and commercial expertise with sustainable development goals right from the start of the investment will bring added value to the project, users and investors.
From partial optimisation to life cycle thinking trough agreements and collaboration
“Construction projects are often led from the perspective of technical expertise. The challenge is that the established way of operating is insular and steers towards partial optimisation”, says Kim Karves, Director of Project Development at Sweco.
According to Karves, the commercial goal should steer the activities more strongly from the outset of the project to ensure that the investment produces the best value for the users and investors.
“Real estate brings returns to the owner or investor only during its life cycle – when someone pays rent. Those involved in the construction project, on the other hand, charge for everything during the construction phase. Therefore, the goals of the parties are not aligned”, says Karves.
The goal of the Sweco Impact service is to ensure that, instead of partial optimisation, projects are genuinely guided by life cycle thinking. According to Karves, this can be ensured through agreements, for example.
“Considering the contract structure at an early stage of the project is critical when the parties are encouraged to create value for the property and its owners.”
In addition to the contract structure, comprehensive project steering and the improvement of interaction between project partners are crucial in projects with many interest groups.
“We can get rid of the insularity by increasing common understanding and cooperation”, Karves summarises.
Considering sustainable development guarantees the best result
The concept behind the Sweco Impact service is impact investing. In addition to economic profit, impact investing aims for a positive impact on society or the environment.
“This is a fast-growing form of investing. The idea is that the profit of the investment is not compromised on, even though the investment also benefits either the environment or society”, Karves says.
The basic idea of the Sweco Impact service is that taking sustainable development into account in construction projects increases profit and reduces risk in the long run. An environmental and well-being certificate can indicate, for example, that the building has a better energy economy and the charging of electric cars has been taken into account, making the building’s manageability better in the future.
According to Karves, the aim is for the UN principles of sustainable development to guide all work.
All under one roof
Sweco Impact thus combines three areas of expertise: technical, economic and sustainable development. The solution is offered to the customer as a package to make acquisition easy and the responsibilities clear. If necessary, sub-consultants may also be used in the project, such as partners requested by the customer.
“We bring together the best experts in different areas of expertise, applications and design, regardless of whether they are Sweco staff or external experts”, Karves says.
The Sweco Impact service is generally offered at a fixed price on a Success Fee basis.
“In doing so, we want to show that we bear our responsibility in keeping with the costs and the common goal. The customer receives the whole service under one roof, and we take the reins”, Karves summarises.