M&A: CBRE Acquires Singapore, Southeast Asia Sustainability Consulting Firm Paia

Global commercial real estate firm CBRE has acquired Paia Consulting, a sustainability-focused consultancy that serves customers across Singapore and the Southeast Asia region. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is M&A deal number 246 that Sustainable Tech Partner has covered so far in 2024. Related: See all M&A deals involving sustainability, climate tech and green IT services listed here.

CBRE, with roots that extend back to 1906, is based in Dallas, Texas. CBRE claims to be the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. The company has more than 130,000 employees serving clients in more than 100 countries.

The CBRE Singapore business, founded in 1977, serves as a headquarters for CBRE's strategic Southeast Asia regional hub. That Singapore-based business offers commercial leasing, investment sales, residential project marketing and commercial asset management services.

Paia Consulting, founded in 2002, provides sustainability strategy, implementation, and reporting services in Singapore and across the Southeast Asian region. The company has worked with more than 100 Singapore Exchange-listed firms, Paia asserts.

Singapore: Green IT Services, Renewable Energy and Climate Disclosure Trends

What inspired the deal? Among the factors to note: Singapore, with a compound need to achieve carbon neutrality and energy security, may become Asia's renewable energy hub, Nikkei reported in November 2023.

Meanwhile, Singapore companies have some ways to go when it comes to climate-related disclosures, as mandatory reporting rules are set to kick in, Bloomberg reported in November 2023.

Among the key data points to note:

• Only 43% of Singapore-listed companies made climate disclosures in line with at least five of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures in their 2022 fiscal year sustainability reports, according to a biennial study by Singapore Exchange Ltd. regulatory arm and the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the NUS Business School.
• That’s lower than the global average of 58%, based on the latest TCFD data, the Bloomberg report stated.

Amid those challenges, The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in November 2023 launched Gprnt, an integrated digital platform that "harnesses technology to simplify how the financial sector and real economy collect, access and act upon environmental, social and governance (ESG) data to support their sustainability initiatives."

Sustainability Consulting: Executive Names to Know

Clearly, CBRE wants to increasingly pursue sustainability opportunities in Singapore and across Southeast Asia.

Following the acquisition, the Paia Consulting professionals will integrate with CBRE’s existing ESG Consulting & Sustainability Services team in Singapore.

Among the key executives to know:

• David Fogarty, who has led CBRE’s ESG Consulting & Sustainability Services in Asia since 2022, will integrate the expanded team.
• Paia Consulting founder Carrie Johnson will shift to lead consultant.
• Paia Consulting Managing Director Corrado Forcellati shifts to director, client sustainability strategy & solutions.

Sustainability Consulting M&A: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the deal, Anshuman Magazine, CBRE advisory division president for India, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa, said: “This acquisition will have an impact across the APAC region. The greater level of awareness and interest in sustainability is rising among businesses, and increasing regulations will provide an impetus for them to build sustainability strategies and to demonstrate progress on their implementation. The combined team’s work will likely spread across our network of offices, as well as our clients’ multi-national operations – giving clients access to best practices across geographies.”

Moray Armstrong, managing director, CBRE Singapore, added: “We are focused on expanding the range of services and solutions we can deliver to global and local clients to help them navigate complexity in this business environment. With the introduction of Paia’s capabilities, CBRE will be at the forefront of ESG advisory in Singapore and across Asia Pacific. Our professionals will be partnering with clients on reporting, training, compliance, benchmarking, developing and executing ESG plans. CBRE will positively impact the built environment.”

Noted Paia Consulting Managing Director Corrado Forcellati: “This is a great opportunity for both teams to come together and leverage each other’s strengths to fulfil our shared aspiration to be an end-to-end service provider for clients. Going forward, clients, whether in real estate or beyond, can look forward to enhanced thought leadership, tools, and solutions - delivered by a bigger team of colleagues possessing more diverse skill sets. We are excited to be able to offer integrated solutions to challenging sustainability issues, with a tailored, localised approach.”

Concluded Forcellati: “How we engage with each other and our clients, bringing care, curiosity, feedback, collaboration, and dedication – these are the things everyone is familiar with and have come to rely on through the years. These are aligned with CBRE’s way of working.”