Press release
Zug, 30 September 2021

The Zug Estates Group announced in its most recent sustainability report that it has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions from 17.3 kilogrammes (2010) to its current level of 1.8 kilogrammes per square meter of energy reference area, making the Group a leader in the Swiss real estate industry. Nearly carbon-free operation of all properties will become a reality in the next two years.

Zug Estates is well aware of its responsibility with respect to climate change and has set itself the goal of operating its entire real estate portfolio free of carbon emissions. Not only newly constructed buildings but each and every property in the portfolio will be optimised to meet this goal. With that, the real estate company goes well beyond the requirements of both the Federal Council's energy strategy and the Paris Agreement. These calculations take into account greenhouse gas emissions that arise in connection with heating and cooling systems as well as in the production of operational current. They also include emissions from the Group's own fleet of company vehicles.

Direct emissions approaching zero

Since 2010, the Group has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) from 17.3 to the current level of 1.8 kilogrammes per square meter of energy reference area, better than reported by any other company in the Swiss real estate sector. By 2023, the entire portfolio is to be operated nearly free of carbon emissions and without the need to import any additional energy from outside the region, an ambitious goal the Group plans to achieve by connecting additional properties from the Zug City Centre site to the Circulago lake water district. Not only that, but the company's own fleet of vehicles will be transitioned completely to e-vehicles by the end of 2023 and the production of solar energy (electricity and heat) will be further expanded on the company's own sites at the same time. Additional electricity required for the Group's operations will be obtained from renewable sources in the region.

Scope 1 comprises the emissions that arise through the use of fuel oil and natural gas to generate heat as well as from the use of gasoline and diesel in the company's own vehicles. Scope 2 comprises emissions that arise in connection with the generation of purchased electricity as well as the heating and cooling capacity purchased from the Circulago lake water district. Emission data refer to the period from 1 April to 31 March of the subsequent year.

Greater transparency and better comparability

Zug Estates' sustainability strategy focuses not only on reducing its carbon emissions, rather it has also been pursuing projects and objectives in the areas of materials, biodiversity and water for many years now. Beyond the scope of these environmental topics, issues related to the areas of social affairs and corporate governance are becoming increasingly important, as well. In an effort to promote transparency and comparability, Zug Estates is publishing its first-ever sustainability report in accordance with the internationally recognised GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standards this year. The scope of the report has also been expanded. The new sustainability report covers the entire range of ESG criteria, which refer to environmental, social and corporate governance factors. Another change is that the report will mainly be published digitally on the Group's website at https://zugestates.ch/nachhaltigkeit.

Additional information

Sustainability Report by the Zug Estates Group in accordance with GRI standards (29 September 2021)

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About Zug Estates
The Zug Estates Group conceives, develops, markets and manages properties in the Zug region. It focuses on central sites which are suitable for a wide range of uses and allow sustainable development. The real estate portfolio comprises the two sites in Zug and Risch Rotkreuz. The Group also runs a city resort in Zug incorporating the two leading business hotels Parkhotel Zug and City Garden and a comprehensive range of restaurants. The total value of the portfolio came to CHF 1.67 billion as at 30 Juni 2021. Zug Estates Holding AG is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, Zurich, (ticker symbol: ZUGN; securities number: 14 805 212).

Zug Estates Holding AG | Industriestrasse 12 | CH-6300 Zug | T +41 41 729 10 10 | www.zugestates.ch