Sabine Schaffer joins IHIF Asia discussion on sustainable finance and operational real estate

Pro-invest Group Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Dr. Sabine Schaffer, joined IHIF Asia 2026 in Hong Kong for a panel exploring the role of ESG, green capital and sustainable debt structures in the future of hospitality and operational real estate.

The panel, “Financing the Future: ESG, Green Capital and Sustainable Debt Structures,” brought Sabine together with Eric Ricaurte, Greenview; Zetty Metassan, Brunei Investment Agency; and Jeremy Chan, Aareal Bank, to discuss how sustainability considerations are increasingly influencing real estate investment, financing and asset strategies.

The discussion formed part of a broader conversation at IHIF Asia around the evolution of hospitality and adjacent asset classes, including the growing institutional focus on alternative Living sectors and operational real estate.

Sabine shared Pro-invest Group’s perspective on the role ESG can play across the full investment lifecycle, from development and financing through to asset management and hotel operations.

Drawing on the Group’s experience, Sabine highlighted Pro-invest’s Newcastle hotel, which in 2021 became the first hotel building to achieve carbon neutral certification through the NABERS and Climate Active pathway, with the certification maintained in subsequent years.

The discussion also reflected on Pro-invest Group’s experience in sustainable financing, including its work with Aareal Bank on green financing across its hotel portfolio, as well as its longstanding collaboration with Greenview to support sustainability initiatives across the Group’s operational real estate platform.

These experiences are increasingly relevant as Pro-invest Group continues to expand its Living and Urban Accommodation strategies.

Through its Urban Accommodation platform, Pro-invest is applying its hospitality and operational expertise to the conversion and repositioning of existing assets to create flexible, hospitality-led accommodation in markets where housing supply remains constrained.

A key theme of the discussion was the opportunity to consider ESG not only through the lens of new development, but also through the adaptive reuse and repositioning of existing real estate. For Pro-invest Group, this forms an important part of considering how existing buildings can be given new purpose while contributing to broader housing supply and affordability challenges in Australia.

The IHIF Asia discussion continued themes Sabine has previously explored at IHIF Berlin, where she participated in a panel focused on the evolution of alternative Living and the growing institutional interest in the sector.

We thank IHIF Asia, Eric Ricaurte, Zetty Metassan and Jeremy Chan for an engaging discussion on the role sustainable capital can play in supporting the next generation of hospitality, Living and operational real estate.