Health & Well-being: Time for Residential Action
It may not be feasible for every building to have its own pool or gym, but all Residential owners should be thinking critically about what health and well-being interventions could benefit their properties. And for owners who have already taken steps to improve their building’s energy performance, health and well-being can be approached with a similar process.
Read more Using the Environmental Management System Framework to Approach Data Management
As useful as data can be, it can be equally cumbersome to collect and process. To properly manage data and ensure its highest level of quality, a process should be developed. The ISO 14001 framework for Environmental Management Systems follows a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and can also serve as a guide to data management, as outlined below.
Read more The Business Case for ESG in Real Estate
The growing trend of ESG integration amongst companies and investors is more than a decision about doing what is socially responsible or morally right. Growing evidence suggests that ESG integration may be a key differentiator, providing organizations with a competitive advantage and leading to improved long-term financial performance compared to peers. Over 80% of corporations […]
Read more Carbon Context: Achieving Clarity in Public Emission Disclosures
“Our company has reduced our emissions by 20%!” The frequency of carbon disclosure headlines such as this is only increasing as the real estate industry steps up its environmental initiatives.
Read more Health and Well-being at the Office
Sitting at a desk all day, staring at a computer screen, eyes strained and shoulders slumped —sound like you? Health Impacts of the Office The typical American spends nearly a quarter of their week at work. Most of us, however, don’t think about the toll that work takes on our health. Many people neglect their […]
Read more Trending Now: Impact Investing
Impact Investing 101 Providing access to energy for remote, underserved communities. Repairing infrastructure and buildings to improve resilience against climate-related shocks. Developing skills-based trainings and creating new job opportunities. These are just some of the initiatives that governments, NGOs, non-profits, and philanthropic foundations help finance around the globe each year. But who is to say […]
Read more A New Focus on Water
Across the United States, and more broadly across the globe, water scarcity is expected to impact more than half the world’s population by 2030[1]. A 2014 study performed by the Government Accountability Office found that 40 out of 50 states in the United States are likely to experience a shortage of freshwater within the next […]
Read more Rising to the Net Neutral Challenge
Real estate professionals have been issued a challenge: zero out the net greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage of the built environment.
Read more Sustainable Cities: GHG Emissions Inventories as a First Step Towards a Successful Green Economy
Our world continues to become increasingly urban. From the 19th century growth of European and North American cities, to the explosive population increase during the 1950s in cities like Tokyo and Mexico City, to the current expansion of cities in China and Sub-Saharan Africa, cities have been –and continue to be– global engines for innovation […]
Read more Resilience 101
In late August of 2017, the United States was bracing for another destructive force of nature. Hurricane Harvey made landfall and brought flooding that had never been seen before in Texas, causing catastrophic conditions in Houston and totalling over $125 million in damage – the second most costly natural disaster in United States history behind […]
Read more ‘Smart Buildings’, Big Data, and IoT in Real Estate: Too much of a good thing?
My wife and I were at the airport recently waiting for our flight when we came across a restaurant with iPads at every seat. Always eager to try new technology, and with plenty of time before our flight, we decided to grab some food and check out the capabilities. As we got situated the tablet […]
Read more Setting a GHG Emissions Target Backed by Science-Driven Data
As part of the GRESB process, responding funds are asked to submit their short-term and long-term performance goals, including a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target. When setting a GHG emission target, how does a company best determine a reduction goal that contributes to mitigating climate change, while also encouraging innovation and enhancing flexibility to an […]
Read more On Public ESG Disclosure Trends
The trends in corporate sustainability reporting and public disclosure are for the most part encouraging. First, more companies are reporting on their sustainability performance. According to the Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. more than 80 percent of S&P 500 companies published a corporate sustainability report in 2016. This number is up from only 20 percent […]
Read more Leveraging Stakeholder Engagement to Develop Sustainability Strategies
As organizations begin to develop more nuanced sustainability programs that require the involvement of key stakeholders, such as tenants and employees, the challenge of how to engage these groups becomes more relevant. Whether implementing a short-term initiative, an event at a building, or a more comprehensive program across the entire organization, engaging stakeholders can help […]
Read more Climbing the Tree of Energy Efficiency – What comes after ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’ in Existing Buildings?
When an organization first considers energy efficiency, the focus is almost always on ‘low-hanging fruit’ – actions or initiatives that are simple, turnkey, and require very little investment. These incremental efforts drive major impacts in terms of reducing carbon footprint and cost savings, leaving organizations eager to take the logical next steps.
Read more Rethinking Waste Management at CodeGreen Solutions
[one-half-first]The CodeGreen Solutions team set out to demonstrate our leadership and commitment to sustainability by implementing a waste reduction program in our own office. Our waste management program aligned with the New York City goal of sending zero waste to landfills by 2030, and was developed in large part due to the importance of waste […]
Read more Health & Well-being: Year 2 and CodeGeen
As the second GRESB Health and Well-Being module submission cycle recently came to a close (July 1, 2017), well-being in real estate is not a fading trend. Rather, it is an investor, tenant, and employee driven consideration for real estate owners and operators. In 2016, 174 entities (over 20% of respondents) voluntarily completed the GRESB Health and […]
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