19 februari 2024
How Real Estate Affects our Environment, Health and Prosperity
Beyond the Classroom lecture at the School of Business and Economics (SBE) featuring professor Nils Kok on "How buildings affect our Environment, Health and Prosperity." Key Takeaways: The air we breathe, especially indoors, matters more than we think. High indoor CO2 levels can knock off 20% from your test scores and have a negative impact on your mental well-being. Real estate industry contributes a whopping 39% of global carbon emissions -- Real estate touches almost every part of our lives; Whether you're still studying, (want to) work in finance, real estate, or a completely different field. We spend 87% of our time indoors, but most of us do not realize that the quality of the buildings impacts the quality of how we spend our time. Our environment greatly influences our physical/mental health and productivity. However, this influence goes beyond just impacting our direct environment. Responsible for 71% of electricity consumption and 39% of global carbon emissions, real estate plays a critical but often overlooked part in the debate on slowing climate change and reducing energy dependence. -- This lecture was given by Dr. Nils Kok, Professor in Real Estate Finance at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics, the Netherlands. His research interests range from urban economics to institutional real estate investments, with a strong focus on the economics of energy efficiency and sustainability in the real estate sector. -- This lecture series aims to bring academia beyond the boundaries of traditional classrooms. This series, organised by Maastricht University School of Business Economics (SBE), invites our esteemed professors to share their expertise on a wide range of timely and thought-provoking topics, from the banking crisis to sustainable supply chains to the future of service robots. In doing so, our goal is to provide a forum where the extended SBE community can learn from experts in their field and engage in inspiring discussions.