The work of Evalore “nos ha permitido definir una estrategia ESG a corto y medio plazo, mejorar la huella medioambiental de los activos y establecer una hoja de ruta clara para seguir avanzando en la gestión sostenible ”, afirma Ariadna Planella Villanueva, Senior Portfolio Associate en Pygmalion Capital Advisers LLP.
En el sector hotelero, la sostenibilidad ya no se limita a una cuestión reputacional ni a una exigencia regulatoria futura. En portfolios en operación, se ha convertido en una palanca concreta para mejorar el desempeño del activo, ordenar la inversión y estructurar una estrategia de mejora progresiva.
The challenge is to do so without disrupting the hotel's daily business. and without falling into isolated actions that are difficult to scale up or to justify economically.
Evalore, a consultancy specialising in sustainability of Gesvalt Group, developed for Pygmalion Capital a project on a portfolio of 9 hotels located in Madrid, San Sebastian, Seville, Bilbao, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santander, Ciudad Real and Valladolid. These are hotel assets between 20 and 30 years old, with a total surface area of 125,000 m².
The objective was not only to obtain environmental certification. The real challenge was to transform an existing set of assets into a portfolio that was more efficient, more resilient and better aligned to ESG criteria, and also establishing a clear path of continuous improvement and decarbonisation.
The challenge in ESG: acting on existing assets without slowing down the operation
Working with hotels in operation requires a different way of thinking. It is not enough to identify “sustainable” measures on paper: it is necessary to prioritise those that can be implemented realistically, with measurable impact and a reasonable balance between investment, operation and return.
In this case, the starting point was particularly demanding. The 9 hotels shared the same strategic need, but had different casuistries in terms of location, age, facilities and operation.
The hotel investment group Pygmalion Capital needed a common methodology that would allow it to order decisions on a portfolio scale and, at the same time, land concrete actions on each asset.
The challenge for Evalore was precisely that: making certification a useful management tool and not an end in itself. That is, using the process as a structured framework to identify priorities, align teams, define viable investments and tangibly improve the environmental performance of the portfolio.
How it was approached: BREEAM in Use certification and common ESG strategy
The work ran from 2023 to 2025 and combined environmental consultancy, BREEAM certification is in use and definition of a decarbonisation roadmap for the portfolio as a whole.
The intervention was based on a common improvement strategy, addressing environmental, social and governance issues in a coordinated manner. This basis made it possible to unify criteria between assets and facilitate decision-making at different levels, from ownership to hotel managers and maintenance teams.
The BREEAM certification se utilizó como marco estructurado para ordenar el proceso. No solo ayudó a evaluar el estado de cada activo, sino también a detectar palancas de mejora energética, ambiental y operativa y a priorizar medidas según su viabilidad técnica y económica. A partir de ahí, se definieron medidas replicables y una hoja de ruta de actuación priorizada según viabilidad técnica y económica.
In parallel, the implementation of an energy efficiency CapEx programme was used to recertify the assets and consolidate a continuous improvement approach. The project did not stop at minimum compliance, but sought to establish a sustainable management approach in the medium term.
A portfolio project, not a sum of isolated actions
One of the most valuable aspects of the case is that it was not approached as nine independent projects, but as an integrated portfolio strategy. This vision made it possible to work with homogeneous criteria and to build a common logic of decarbonisation and performance improvement.
Evalore aligned the different asset managers under comparable and replicable parameters, facilitating the implementation of globally meaningful measures. This way of working is especially relevant in hotel portfolios, where smart standardisation helps to scale results without losing sight of the particularities of each building.
The approach also made it possible to identify which actions needed to be addressed first, which could be tackled quickly and which required more progressive planning. This prioritisation was key to ensuring that the strategy did not remain a declaration of intent, but an actionable plan.
El agua como línea complementaria de análisis
As part of the project, one of the specific tasks was the carrying out a water study aimed at detecting opportunities for improvement in the efficiency of the facilities. Este análisis permitió proponer medidas concretas con un interés técnico y económico.
Among the strategies proposed were leakage monitoring and sensorisation, the incorporation of efficient showers, urinals and toilets, and the improvement of the stock of efficient household appliances. The estimated investment for this block was around 46,000 euros, with an approximate payback of 6 months, and even with measures estimated to have a payback of less than one year.
Aunque estas medidas no se han implementado aún dentro del alcance del proyecto, el estudio permitió identificar oportunidades de mejora con potencial claro y aportar una base técnica útil para futuras decisiones.
Resultado: certificación y una hoja de ruta clara de descarbonización
El resultado clave del proyecto fue la utilización de la certificación BREEAM como herramienta de diagnóstico, priorización y mejora continua del portfolio hotelero, acompañada de una hoja de ruta clara de descarbonización y mejora continua para los 9 activos en operación.
Más allá del sello, el proyecto permitió integrar el portfolio en una estrategia común de sostenibilidad, identificar medidas prioritarias de reducción de emisiones y consumos, y estructurar una base de trabajo común para la toma de decisiones futuras.
En otras palabras, la sostenibilidad dejó de ser una capa añadida para convertirse en un criterio de gestión del portfolio. Eso se traduce en activos más comprensibles para el mercado, mejor preparados para futuras exigencias regulatorias, con una estrategia de mejora más clara y con mayor capacidad para ordenar inversiones y decisiones operativas.
Among the most relevant impacts of the work are the following:
- The integration of 9 hotels into a single sustainability strategy.
- La certificación y recertificación BREEAM ES en uso como sello de calidad ambiental y marco común de evaluación y mejora.
- The identification of priority measures to reduce emissions and consumption.
- The definition of a realistic and prioritised decarbonisation roadmap.
- La generación de una base común para orientar la mejora progresiva del portfolio.
Sostenibilidad como herramienta para ordenar y preparar el portfolio
This case demonstrates that, in existing hotel assets, well-planned sustainability not only improves environmental indicators. It also helps to order investment, clarify priorities and reinforce attributes that the market is already watching closely: efficiency, resilience, management traceability and adaptability.
Por eso resulta especialmente relevante la valoración del cliente, Ariadna Planella Villanueva, Senior Portfolio Associate en Pygmalion Capital Advisers LLP: “Trabajar con Evalore nos ha permitido definir una estrategia ESG a corto y medio plazo, mejorar la huella medioambiental de los activos y establecer una hoja de ruta clara para seguir avanzando en la gestión sostenible del portfolio”.