real impact with real estate: a new report from the NAB - press release

The Netherlands Advisory Board on Impact Investing (NAB) publishes a new report "Real Impact with Real Estate" that brings together insights from its Community of Practice ‘Addressing Challenges in the Dutch Residential Real Estate Sector’  and a series of interviews with eight leading organisations across the investor and public sectors landscape. The publication is part of the 10% Target programme, which aims to mobilise more Dutch institutional capital towards impact investing.

The report emphasises that solving the housing challenges in the Netherlands requires coordinated action. Contributors consistently stressed that the need for closer cooperation among investors,

developers, municipalities and national authorities is essential to enhance affordability, accelerate climate alignment and expand supply in a way that meets long term societal needs.

An interviewee said: “When investors and developers design impact and performance together from the start, real estate becomes one of the asset classes where societal value and financial value reinforce each other.”

Key themes include the importance of shared affordability definitions, the role of senior housing in driving movement across the wider market, and the need to integrate climate goals into new developments and retrofits. The report also notes that methods for measuring social outcomes vary significantly, which can limit comparability and slow progress.

The interviews with eight major asset owners, managers, fiduciary managers and the Ministerie van Volkshuisvesting en Ruimtelijke Ordening  (Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning) provide concrete examples of how organisations are working within current constraints and where they see opportunities for more collective action.

The report concludes with recommendations for each type of stakeholder with a focus on strengthening alignment, improving data structures, supporting stable policies and expanding cooperation, so that impact-oriented residential strategies can scale.

At the NAB, we believe that “knowledge shared is knowledge grown”. With this report, we aimed to gather and provide practical information that can guide investors and sector participants as they navigate both the obstacles and the opportunities.

The insights from panels and interviews underline the potential of real estate to deliver environmental and societal transformation alongside stable returns. Ensuring that the built environment not only reflects the needs of today but becomes a pillar of our resilient society tomorrow requires a shift in how investment decisions are currently being made. Impact investing in real estate offers a path to achieve this.

With this report, we aim to encourage stakeholders across the sector to take meaningful steps toward shaping a real estate landscape that delivers long-term value for investors, society and the planet.

We wish you a good read,

The NAB team.

Download report