Sven Bienert (born 4 July 1973 in Hagen) is a German economist and university lecturer. He is a professor at the International Real Estate Business School at the University of Regensburg. He is also a chartered surveyor.
Early life and education.
Bienert completed his vocational education as a bank clerk at Oldenburgische Landesbank in 1995, and went on to graduate from the Administration and Business Academy and the German Real Estate Academy at the Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg in 1998 with a degree in property management (VWA). In 2001, he completed his degree with distinction in business administration at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg. During his studies, Bienert completed internships at Engel & Völkers and Arthur Andersen Real Estate.
Career.
Bienert was employed with KPMG Consulting in the real estate division from January 2002 to January 2003. From February 2003 to 2007, he headed the real estate economics department at the University of Applied Sciences in Kufstein, Austria. During this time he completed his PhD with summa cum laude in 2004, focusing on the effects of the new capital adequacy guidelines for banks (Basel II) on project financing in the property industry with ?
Since April 2010, he has been the Head of the IRE|BS Competence Center of Sustainable Real Estate at the International Real Estate Business School, University of Regensburg of which he was managing director from 2013 to 2019. His research focuses on sustainability strategies, valuation methodologies, and the integration of ESG principles into real estate markets.
From April 2007 to January 2011, Bienert headed the real estate division at KPMG Financial Advisory Services throughout Austria. Between 2011 and 2013, he was managing director of Probus Real Estate GmbH in Vienna, overseeing a real estate portfolio worth approximately €2.1 billion.
He is actively involved in various industry organizations, including the German Sustainable Building Council, the German Property Federation (ZIA) and Urban Land Institute (ULI). He is also a member of the European Valuation Standards Board of TEGoVA and the Expert Advisory Group of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) since 2022. He was also elected to the DVFA Executive Board in 2023, where he is responsible for the real estate division.
He fulfils the role of reviewer and co-editor for a number of scientific journals in the property sector, including the "Journal of Property Investment & Finance", the "Journal of Sustainable Real Estate" and the "Journal of European Real Estate Research". Alongside his professorship at the University of Regensburg, he runs his own research institute and appraisal office in Wörgl, Austria. He has extensive experience as a generally sworn and court-certified expert and is constantly active as a consultant and lecturer.
From 2015 to the end of 2024, Bienert led the Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) research project funded by the European Commission under its Horizon 2020 funding programme, which derived scientifically sound decarbonisation pathways for the real estate sector in order to define a standard for measuring greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector and assessing the sustainability of real estate. In this way, the sustainable performance of property (portfolios) can be harmonised with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and the avoidance of future regulatory or transitional risks can be supported. In this context, the now common term stranded asset refers to properties that are no longer in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. This standard has now been accepted by various market participants and is used globally. Bienert is also leading a sub-project of the Transara Sacred Space Transformation project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
As a scientist, he has been quoted on the impact of natural hazards and extreme weather on property and warns of the economic consequences of climate change and global warming.