A multi-criteria composite indicator to support sustainable investment choices in the built environment

The economic crisis generated by the current Covid-19 has scratched many of the certainties consolidated in the past, highlighting the fragility of the economic system and the need for a more efficient management of the investments. Extreme events, whether environmental, social, health and economic, trigger off shocks to which it is necessary to promptly react. Starting from these premises, many institutional investors are directing their capitals towards environmental interventions. In the real estate field this translates into promoting initiatives to improve the efficiency of the existing building heritage, in line with the concept of Circular Economy, and avoiding further soil sealing. In the present research a composite indicator that allows to analyze the performance of different real estate investments (e.g. new construction, demolition and reconstruction, renovation, etc.) has been proposed. The performance is assessed with respect to the expected profitability, the specific characteristics of the market in which the initiatives are located and the different risk-return profiles that characterize the investors. The case study, relating to two different investments located in Rome (Italy), has allowed to test the effectiveness and the limits of the proposed indicator and the possible application fields.