Annual Report 2020
Annual Report 2020
Infrastructure projects are now based on improving environmental sustainability and developing solutions to optimise energy usage, use renewable energy sources, water management and waste management.
The COVID-19 emergency halted many projects, significantly
affecting infrastructure projects as market uncertainties stopped
investors, although there was a more positive outlook towards the end
of the year.
Our Real Estate business, on the other hand, had a
good year, exceeding targets by around 20%. Providing engineering and
evaluation services for all kinds of buildings with dedicated technical and
financial competencies, was helped by a new Italian regulation offering
financial benefits for energy and seismic efficient renovations.
Building a sustainable environment
Across all parts of our business there is
a focus on providing services to enhance sustainability. Infrastructure
projects, such as a new cruise terminal in the port of Ravenna,
Italy, are based on improving environmental sustainability and developing
solutions to optimise energy usage, use renewable energy sources, water
management and waste management. In 2020, we completed the design of
a nearly zero emission sustainable building in the University of Djibouti, on the east coast of Africa.
This building will be a showcase
for
sustainable and energy efficient infrastructure for
the rest of the
country.
ESG is also an
increasingly important consideration for real estate. In 2020, we
released new services to support SGR, asset management companies and
funds for ESG compliance, ESG due diligence and Global ESG Benchmark for Real
Assets (GRESB) rating. We issued a new tool to measure the ESG rating of a
building, covering evaluation of energy, carbon, water, mobility, wellbeing,
biodiversity, waste and governance.
A modern approach
The path towards digitalization is a core strategy
for the real estate and infrastructure business.
In RE some of the challenges of 2020 were met using
our remote survey capability, enabled through the Kiber smart
helmet. This technology, which has been utilised widely
across the RINA business, enables our experts to be on site in a ‘virtual’ way
in real time.
Other digital innovations include our work on
the structural health monitoring system (SHMS) and corrosion monitoring
system (CMS) for
the Storstrøm Bridge, Denmark. Using the
latest
fibre optic sensors to monitor parameters such as
strain and
temperature, the systems will provide
comprehensive information about
structure integrity along with analysis of bridge parameters and environmental
conditions.
Even in projects where we are applying more
‘traditional’ services, digital elements are increasingly common. The landmark
project for the demolition and
reconstruction of
the Polcevera bridge in Genoa, which was concluded in 2020,
for
example, used drone and image modelling technology to assist with monitoring,
inspection and verification and the Kiber helmet for remote
inspection during construction of the bridge’s piles.
Alongside the use of remote inspection services and
work on the tool to evaluate building ESG, in real estate we released our
Auction Real Estate System (ARES 2.0). This is a unique auction management
system that allows clients to access all available information about the credit
portfolio they intend to leverage and be scouted.
Highlights of 2020
With the conclusion of the construction phase of
the San Giorgio bridge and our involvement with
the Storstrøm bridge, bridges represented some of the key
infrastructure highlights of the year. Although 2020 was a difficult year,
there were many public tenders for inspection activities which are now showing
some positive results.
2020 also saw the release of our new Innovative
Asset Integrity Management service, which provides an end-to-end
approach for clients to give a holistic approach
to integrity monitoring. With a service that ranges from
infrastructure status inspection to intervention execution, clients will
benefit from working with a single entity that is responsible for all
activities with a solution that is scalable across multiple assets and
geographies.
In real estate, our resounding success in supporting organisations in
accessing bonus funds for sustainable renovations (mainly concerning energy
efficiency upgrades for buildings, seismic risk mitigation measures) in Italy is one of the year’s highlights.
RINA
has been supporting all industry operators who enter to the 110% value chain
“Superbonus”, through all process stages, offering a range of technical
services to target-clients (e.g., Condominiums, Credit Institutions,
Multiutility providers, Accounting & Tax Advisory firms), in all Italy,
supervising: Feasibility,
Project, Construction,
test, Certification and
submission to the ENEA.
We also created new market share by investing in
and supporting SGR, Asset management company and Funds to be ESG compliance to
the European regulation for sustainable financial disclosure, which came into
force in March 2021.
2021 and beyond
We start 2021 with our newly formed Real Estate and
Infrastructure Business Unit and with great enthusiasm. Although
uncertainty remains as we continue the battle against COVID-19,
we expect infrastructure markets to be buoyant. We will continue to build
on our successes in project management consultancy services for major
infrastructure projects and push our Innovative Asset
Integrity Management solution. We will further look to expand our markets
into areas such as healthcare and aviation and push for growth
in Africa.
The tax benefits for renovations in Italy lasts for
two years, so we will consolidate our position in this market along with our
standing in real estate evaluation and sustainable and environmental
services. We will also look to invest in an IT prop tech company
to move our digital capabilities forward.