Real estate-focused climate and sustainability consulting firm Longevity Partners announced a new strategi investment from Nuveen and Leon Capital.

Founded in 2015 Longevity Partners works with real estate and infrastructure firms to achieve green building certifications, and assists them on energy audits, data reporting and management, climate resilience strategies, and the development of energy and resource efficiency measures to reduce environmental impact and future-proof assets. Company data shows that it has certified over $300 billion worth of real estate assets, and is considered a global leader in delivering BREEAM In-use certificates, the global science-based reference for green building certifications.

Etienne Cadestin, founder and CEO of Longevity Partners, said:

“Joining forces with Leon Capital and Nuveen Private Equity Impact teams is a game changer and marks an important milestone for Longevity. This investment provides us with substantial resources, strategic support and firepower to further accelerate our growth and pursue transformative opportunities. With this partnership, we are better positioned to scale our operations globally and expand our impact in driving the transition to net zero across the real estate and infrastructure sectors.”

Earlier this year, Longevity announced the launch of its Decarbonization Dashboard, a new tool aimed at enabling commercial real estate professionals and asset managers to track emissions and outline decarbonization pathways for property portfolios. The real estate sector has one of the largest carbon footprints, responsible for about 40% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 34% of global energy use. Longevity’s digital dashboard has been designed to track these emissions and outline decarbonization pathways for commercial real estate portfolios.

According to Longevity, the new investment will support its development in tech-enabled sustainability solutions for the real estate sector and drive global expansion.

Radhika Shroff, Managing Director, Private Equity Impact at Nuveen, said:

“With buildings responsible for 40% of global total carbon emissions, we believe our investment in Longevity Partners is true to our objective to tackle the issues at the heart of the global climate crisis. By investing in a robust, science-based evaluation company, we hope to accelerate the decarbonization of real estate markets around the world.”

Jean-Christophe Napoleon Bonaparte and Christos Lavidas, Managing Partners at Leon Capital, and Michael Youtsos, Partner, at Leon Capital, added:

“We are proud to be partnering with Longevity Partners and Nuveen to support a leading player in the real estate sustainability space. Longevity’s expertise is instrumental in redefining how the built environment responds to the climate challenge, and we believe this collaboration will significantly enhance its ability to lead the industry forward.”

Longevity Partners was co-founded and seed funded by real estate investment management firm Long Harbour, who announced that it has sold its stake in the company to Nuveen and Leon Capital.

William Astor, Chief Executive Officer at Long Harbour said:

“Over the past nine years, backed by Long Harbour, Longevity has grown from strength to strength by providing important services in climate and sustainability which have transformed firms around the globe. At a time when the transition to net zero is essential for all real estate companies, the sale of our stake in Longevity to Nuveen and Leon Capital will assist Longevity to scale its operations globally and accelerate its growth.”