Three things major real estate companies actually do with climate risk, and what you can learn from them

Reitan Eiendom and Selvaag Eiendom both published their sustainability reports for 2025, and both mention Telescope. But the interesting part isn't the mention itself. It's what they actually use Telescope for, and what that reveals about what systematic climate risk management looks like in practice.

An industry changing how it works

CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) reporting is not a legal obligation for most real estate companies. The rules apply primarily to the largest players. But a taxonomy-based approach to portfolio management is quickly becoming the norm, regardless of reporting requirements.

Banks are asking for it. Insurers are asking for it. Investors and boards are asking for it. The companies that already work systematically on climate risk, nature risk, and EU taxonomy alignment aren't necessarily the biggest. They're the ones who understand that this is the new standard for responsible property management.

Here are three concrete examples of what that looks like.

Use case 1: Physical climate risk at property level (ESRS E1)

Physical climate risk covers flooding, storms, heatwaves, sea level rise, and quick clay. For a real estate portfolio, this isn't abstract. It's concrete exposure tied to specific properties at specific locations. The challenge is mapping it systematically across an entire portfolio and keeping the picture current over time.

That's exactly what Telescope does for Reitan Eiendom. We layer map data from the Norwegian Environment Agency, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, NVE, and WWF, and analyse it down to property boundary level. The system updates automatically when source data changes, so the risk picture always reflects current information rather than a snapshot from the last reporting season. Reitan feeds these results directly into their scenario analysis and IFRS S2 reporting.

Selvaag Eiendom uses Telescope for the same purpose and frames the value in explicitly financial terms:

"The use of Telescope strengthens the company's work on reducing ESG risk, which is increasingly also financially significant. Several Norwegian banks have integrated ESG assessments into their credit processes, making systematic management of climate risk increasingly relevant for risk management, financing, and long-term value preservation."

— Selvaag Eiendom, Sustainability Report 2025

The point isn't to produce a report. It's to have a foundation that holds up when banks ask, and that stays current throughout the year.

📄 How Telescope's risk score works · Four steps to a complete climate risk assessment of your portfolio

Use case 2: Nature risk and biodiversity (ESRS E4)

Most real estate companies haven't addressed nature risk yet, which is exactly why Reitan's approach is worth paying attention to.

Reitan Eiendom uses Telescope to map actual and potential impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems across their entire portfolio. Telescope automatically retrieves data from the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (Artsdatabanken), Nibio, the Norwegian Environment Agency, and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. It identifies red-listed species, vulnerable habitat types, invasive species, and land-use impacts down to individual property level, and keeps the nature risk analysis continuously updated.

Reitan ties this directly to the mitigation hierarchy (Avoid, Minimise, Restore, Compensate), which is the operational structure behind the ESRS E4 requirements:

"The company's approach to sustainable property development and management will, together with the data foundation from Telescope, contribute to increased focus on biodiversity and sound management of identified risks."

— Reitan Eiendom, Sustainability Report 2025

This isn't risk reporting for the sake of reporting. Telescope helps Reitan register and manage deviations across their portfolio on an ongoing basis. The mapping serves as a basis for actual action, not a description of what has already been done.

📄 The screening module for banks, insurers, and real estate investors

Use case 3 — EU taxonomy screening of the portfolio

The EU taxonomy defines which economic activities can be classified as sustainable investments. For real estate companies, this means properties must be assessed against climate risk and biodiversity risk as part of the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) evaluation — regardless of whether the company is subject to CSRD reporting requirements.

Reitan Eiendom conducts its taxonomy screening across the entire portfolio through Telescope. The screening is done internally, not outsourced to consultants — a deliberate choice to build genuine portfolio competence, not just an external document. The same data foundation used for climate risk and nature risk applies here. It is one process, not three.

"The company has an ambition to use Telescope as an operational tool throughout the year, not only for reporting purposes."

— Reitan Eiendom, Sustainability Report 2025

That distinction matters. Taxonomy screening as a once-a-year exercise delivers limited value. As an ongoing portfolio management tool, it gives you an entirely different basis for decisions on acquisitions, disposals, refurbishment, and financing.

📄 Voyager vs. the screening module: what's the difference?

What this means for you

These three use cases are connected. The data foundation for physical climate risk overlaps with what you need for taxonomy screening and nature risk. Companies that treat these as three separate projects, with three separate consultancy engagements, pay three times for data collection and end up with results that don't talk to each other.

Reitan and Selvaag do it differently. They use one system, continuously, and build internal competence over time. That's not just more efficient. It's more credible with the banks, insurers, and investors who are asking for the documentation.

You don't need to be subject to mandatory reporting to work this way. You just need a portfolio worth understanding.

Want to see what this looks like for your portfolio? Get in touch, and we'll walk you through all three use cases. No commitment required.