Buildings & Facilities
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Notable News
Business Building Design & Management -Action & Goals
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STARBUCKS — Has verified 6,091 “Greener Stores” in 44 markets, nearly doubling its portfolio from last year. Greener stores meet standards across eight environmental impact areas (developed in partnership with WWF and SCS Global Services) including: water stewardship, energy efficiency, waste diversion, renewable energy, responsible materials, engagement, sites, communities, health, and wellbeing. The company aims to certify 10,000 Greener Stores by 2025. (April 2024)
International Green Building Finance Alliance — The U.S. Green Building Council; the UK-based Building Research Establishment, and the Green Building Council of Australia have formed an industry-first international alliance to accelerate the financing of sustainable buildings. The alliance will provide information to investors, property owners, developers, and governments, including raising awareness of these organizations’ green building rating systems. It aims to publish a practical guide to sustainable finance instruments available to the real estate market (e.g. green loans and green bonds) in June 2024. (March 2024)
Building Materials and the Climate: Constructing a New Future (United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture (Yale CEA)) — Calls for reducing “embodied carbon” emissions from the production and deployment of building materials. The report advocates for three strategies to achieve this: 1) avoid waste, build with less, and improve circulation of materials; 2) shift to bio-based building materials; and 3) improve decarbonization of conventional materials. (Sept 2023)
ESTÉE LAUDER — Launched the Responsible Store Design Program, a sustainability framework for assessing building and operational practices of new and existing stores. Requirements under the Program cover store buildouts, energy and water use, responsible sourcing of materials, visual merchandising, store operations, and innovation. A sustainability consulting firm helped to develop the program, and it was reviewed by a third party for credibility and accuracy. Six stores have aligned with the framework in the 2023 pilot program. (July 2023)
BROOKFIELD PROPERTIES — Announced it will power all of its office properties in the U.S. with zero emissions electricity (hydro, wind, solar, and nuclear) by 2026, with 65% of properties shifting to zero-emissions by 2024. The company holds more than 70 million square feet (6.5 million square meters) of office properties across the U.S. (July 2023)
Accelerating the Path to Net Positive Hospitality — The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance unveiled its new 5-year Net Positive Hospitality strategy. This includes a number of initiatives, including introducing standard sustainability metrics across the industry. The Alliance will implement a benchmarking process to track progress and facilitate industry dialogue to develop this shared set of standards. As part of this, it launched the Hospitality High Ambition Movers — an initiative to bring together the most ambitious members to forge commitments and partnerships that leverage their market power and investment capacity to drive catalytic shifts towards net positive — and the Net Positive Accelerators to inspire members to launch collaborative pilot initiatives targeting systemic issues in specific destinations. (May 2023)
STARBUCKS — Announced the expansion of its “Greener Store” program to 3,508 stores in 20 markets, including its first in Asia Pacific and in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Greener Stores are rated among 25 performance-based standards across environmental impacts and receive third party verification. In the U.S., Greener Stores practices have saved the company almost $60 million and have reduced water and energy usage by 30% compared to historic store practices. Starbucks aims to increase the number of Greener Stores to 10,000 by 2025. (April 2023)
Streamlined Certification Pathway for LEED and WELL (US Green Building Council (USGBC) and International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)) — Provides a new process streamlining documentation for projects that are pursuing certifications for both the LEED green building rating system and the WELL Building Standard at the same time or that have already earned one certification and are looking to add the other. New tools and resources available include: LEED + WELL Crosswalk, showing how LEED credits map to specific WELL features and vice versa; LEED + WELL Submittal Form; LEED + WELL Streamlined Certification Process Guide; and an FAQs. (April 2023)
CHIPOTLE — Announced a new all-electric design for its restaurants that will be powered 100% by solar and wind energy, through the purchase of renewable energy credits. Chipotle plans to have more than 100 of its new locations in 2024 utilize all-electric equipment and at least some additional elements from its new design. (April 2023)
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM — CEOs from eight real estate and other industries, including CEF member Schneider Electric, pledged to reduce buildings-related emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and reach net-zero carbon no later than 2050. The companies will meet these targets by implementing the World Economic Forum’s Green Buildings Principles, which include measures such as maximizing on-site renewable energy supply; ensuring off-site energy is procured with renewables, maximizing emissions reductions for new developments and major refurbishments, and engaging with suppliers to reduce Scope 3 emissions. (Jan 2023)
Building Decarbonization Code (New Buildings Institute) — This new model code focuses on decarbonizing the U.S. residential and commercial building stocks. The initial edition focuses on new construction, with provisions for existing building renovations intended for subsequent versions. The code prioritizes efficient electric end-uses, but also offers mixed-fuel options, and should not be considered an all-electric code. It also offers market insight into rules that will determine how new buildings are designed and constructed in the future in order to curb the worst impacts of climate change. (Nov 2022)
MCKINSEY — Launched the Net Zero Built Environment Council, a coalition of industry leaders working to reduce operational emissions from existing building stocks and to design solutions to decarbonize the built environment. The council will work to increase transparency and awareness, develop partnerships along the value chain, and create consistent and reliable sustainability metrics. (Nov 2022)
FIFTH WALL — Venture capital firm Fifth Wall has raised $500 million for a first-of-its-kind fund that brings large-scale real estate owners and operators together to invest in the decarbonization of their industry. Real estate, which is estimated to account for about 40% of total global GHG emissions, is “the single-biggest lever we can turn on to mitigate climate change," said Fifth Wall co-founder Brendan Wallace. CEF member CBRE is among the firms who made initial commitments to the new Climate Fund, which will invest in companies specializing in software, hardware, renewable energy, energy storage, smart buildings, and carbon sequestration technologies that can help the property industry cut emissions. (July 2022)
WORLD GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL — Added seven new signatories, including CEF member Schneider Electric, to its Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. The Commitment sets requirements for efficiency and renewable energy upgrades for existing buildings, and reduced-carbon-intensity building materials for new developments and major renovations. The project now has 169 signatories that collectively account for about 7.2 million tons of CO2 equivalent of portfolio emissions annually, nearly 20,000 operational assets, and more than $415 billion of annual revenue. (May 2022)
44 COMPANIES’ BUILDINGS COMMITMENT — 44 companies have signed the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, committing to doing the following by 2030 (Nov 2021):
- Reducing all operational emissions of new and existing built assets
- Maximizing embodied-carbon reductions for new developments and major renovations they directly control
- Compensating for any residual upfront and operational embodied emissions that can’t be mitigated
- Advocating for wider emission reductions via their business activities
Sustainable Hospitality Alliance
—
Is
developing a Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality as a cohesive framework for companies to drive regenerative impact across the sector, with support from the
World Travel & Tourism Council. The alliance, a group of hospitality companies comprising 30% of the sector, includes CEF members
Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels, Marriott International, and
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
CEF member
Ecolab is an alliance partner. (Nov 2021)
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Net-Zero Buildings: Where Do We Stand? (WBCSD, Arup) — Calls for built-environment stakeholders to conduct whole-life carbon life-cycle assessments of their projects and identifies 5 “crucial” next steps to further decarbonize the sector. Through analysis of whole-life carbon emissions of 6 building projects using the WBCSD Building System Carbon Framework, they found as much as 50% of life-cycle building carbon emissions came from embodied sources (e.g. materials manufacturing) and as few as 6 materials account for 70% of construction-related embodied carbon. (July 2021)
The World Resources Institute launched a Zero Carbon Building Accelerator to harness the as-yet-untapped 80% of economically viable energy savings in buildings and help governments work toward a zero-carbon building sector by 2050. The accelerator will coordinate the development of national roadmaps through 4 strategies, starting in Colombia and Turkey, and expanding to WRI’s partner network and Building Efficiency Accelerator. (July 2021)
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JPMORGAN CHASE — Announced new climate targets for its operations (May 2021):
- Reduce GHG emissions from its buildings, branches, and data centers by 40% by 2030 (2017 baseline)
- Generate 70% of its renewable energy with on-site systems by 2025
- Transition its entire owned fleet of vehicles to electric by 2025
- Reduce global water consumption by 20% by 2030 (2017 baseline)
- Reduce office paper use by 90% by 2025 (2017 baseline) and purchase 100% of paper from certified sources by the end of 2021
- Divert 100% of e-waste from landfill
Advancing Net-Zero Buildings — A joint partnership between WBCSD and the New Buildings Institute to advance energy efficiency, enhance resilience and achieve carbon reductions in buildings. Specific goals include expanding the number of businesses and building owners investing in net-zero performance, accelerating adoption of zero-energy and zero-carbon standards and tools across the entire life cycle of buildings, and promoting the Building System Carbon Framework as a tool enabling decarbonization. (April 2021)
Amazon unveiled development plans for its new headquarters (“HQ2”) in Arlington, Virginia. Features include: LEED Platinum certification; 100% solar-powered all-electric central heating and cooling system; and various alternative nature-inspired work environments, including walkable paths of landscaped terrain that spiral up outside of the building. (February 2021)
Ingersoll Rand introduced Trane Technologies, a pure-play climate company that will create “efficient and sustainable solutions for buildings, homes, and transportation.” The new company will be led by Michael W. Lamach, who serves as chairman and CEO of Ingersoll Rand. (2019)
Research & Tools
Efficient Building Design & Management - Resources & Tools
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Circularity in the Built Environment: Maximizing CO2 Abatement and Business Opportunities (WEF and McKinsey & Company) — Assesses the impact of circular strategies on six key building materials: cement, steel, aluminum, plastics, glass, and gypsum. Finds that circular loops for these six (specifically the recirculation of materials and minerals, renewable and recovered energy, and reducing emission through carbon capture) could abate 13% of the built environment’s embodied carbon in 2030 and 75% in 2050. Circularity could also yield annual net profit gains of $31-46 billion by 2030 and $234-360 billion by 2050 (with the recirculation of materials making up the majority of this value gain). The report also details specific ways each of the six materials could be made more circular, such as designing for reuse and recycling, modularity, and using alternative fuels. (Jan 2024)
Social Impact across the Built Environment (World Green Building Council (WorldGBC)) — This new position paper maps out four scopes of social sustainability impacts of the construction sector and describes actionable steps the sector can take addressing these across the entire building life cycle. The four scopes include: internal (corporate) practices; building users and site; community and surroundings; and supply & value chain. The paper lists five actions the sector can take including: raising awareness of social impact issues; assessing current practices; being accountable of the consequences that affect people and communities; implementing social impact strategies in organizational and project work; and advocating to influence decisions. (Dec 2023)
Building Green: Sustainable Construction in Emerging Markets (International Finance Corporation (IFC)) — The transition to green construction could help reduce global carbon emissions in construction value chains by about 23% by 2035, with emerging markets accounting for about 55% of this projected reduction. The report identifies ways to make green construction practices, materials, and technologies more prevalent in emerging markets, such as energy-efficient building codes and standards, greening government buildings and procurement, and carbon pricing policies. Along with reducing emissions, these changes could create $1.5 trillion in private investment opportunities in emerging markets over the next decade. While global private debt financing for building green increased 23-fold from 2017 to 2021 (to $230 billion), only 10% of that was in emerging markets. (Oct 2023)
Driving Action on Embodied Carbon in Buildings (RMI and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)) — Addresses challenges around reducing embodied carbon emissions and outlines key actions to accelerate the decarbonization of the U.S. building construction sector. The report addresses 11 critical questions, from scale of the opportunity and costs, to how to measure and the quality of the data. It also explores the future of concrete and steel, wood products, carbon storage in buildings, and the policy landscape for embodied carbon.
Embodied Carbon in U.S. Industrial Real Estate (BranchPattern) — Finds that the average embodied carbon intensity of core & shell industrial buildings in the U.S. was 23.0 kg CO2 equivalent/square foot (about 17.4% of total emissions), based on a meta-analysis of 26 Whole Building Life Cycle Assessments. This includes construction, maintenance over its lifespan and deconstruction/demolition. 55% of embodied carbon comes from its structure and enclosure; another 40% from its site work (asphalt pavement, concrete, and cement soil stabilization). The paper concludes with reduction strategies, including reducing cement content and volume (such as using less or substituting greener materials like green steel or mass timber), designing the building for reuse and disassembly, and using recycled materials, including recycled asphalt for site work. (July 2023)
The Circular Built Environment Playbook (World Green Building Council (WorldGBC)) — This new resource lists more than 20 strategies for incorporating circular design principles into building development, including reducing consumption of materials and resources; extending product life; designing for disassembly, reuse and recycling; and using nature regeneratively. WorldGBC encourages its 75 Green Building Councils to think of buildings as materials banks, where every piece should be reused and recovered, to help reduce the generation of waste flows from buildings. (May 2023)
Guidance for Infrastructure Assets: NZIF (IIGCC) — Provides guidance for investors on aligning and managing infrastructure portfolios with the goal of achieving global net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. The guidance, which is a complement to the Net Zero Investment Framework (NZIF), includes a number of different ways for investors to set targets for their infrastructure assets, so that it is useful for both multi-asset and specialist infrastructure investors. (March 2023)
Impact of WELL certification on occupant satisfaction and perceived health, well-being, and productivity (Journal of Building and Environment) — Finds that occupants in WELL Certified spaces report improved workplace satisfaction, increased levels of productivity, and gains in their health and wellbeing. The study analyzed the impact of WELL Certification, which provides a roadmap for improving the quality of air, water, and light in buildings. The study, based on more than 1,300 pre- and post-occupancy survey responses, showed WELL Certification improved overall occupant satisfaction by nearly 30%, perceived well-being scores by 26%, reported mental health scores by 10%, and productivity gains by 10 median points. (Oct 2022)
Circularity Accelerator — Addresses the climate and resource impact of the built environment by increasing adoption of circular economy principles and resource efficiency in the building and construction sector. Developed by the World Green Building Council, the Circularity Accelerator sets targets for sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources within the built environment. Goals include zero waste to landfill by 2030 and a built environment with net zero whole life resource depletion by 2050. This year, Circularity Accelerator will develop two projects (May 2022):
- A “state of the market” report identifying key challenges and opportunities for circular built environments.
- A global awareness campaign, including trainings, publications, and toolkits, to increase the adoption of circularity and resource efficiency principles.
“Circular Buildings Toolkit” (Arup, Ellen MacArthur Foundation) — A new toolkit to help building owners, investors, and developers adopt circular building practices, future-proof assets, and “ready their portfolios for the influx of sustainability regulation.” It is aligned with industry standard planning methods and offers a framework to “design and build for longer term use,” pathways for lower-emission materials, and a library of completed circular building projects. (March 2022)
“CRREM-SBTi pathways” for real estate — SBTi and the Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor initiative (CRREM) are partnering to provide 1.5°C-aligned decarbonization pathways for the real estate sector and create a global standard for decarbonizing building operations. The pathways will incorporate the organizations’ existing methodologies and allow companies to set SBTi-validated targets. (Jan 2022)
Building Insights platform (Atrius, part of an Acuity Brands division) — A cloud-based platform available across Europe that streamlines access to building energy data, increases visibility into building performance, and automates reporting processes. It also includes a Storyboards feature for companies to demonstrate progress toward their sustainability goals. (Jan 2022)
List of
Efficient Building Design & Management, Resources & Tools, 2021-2019 (PDF)
Green Leases
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Green Lease Library (U.S. DOE Better Building Alliance, NRDC, Institute for Market Transformation and RMI)
- Guidance on solar and energy efficiency deployment, multi-tenant buildings, LEED, etc.
- Lease forms and case studies
- Examples of international green leasing best practices (outside of the U.S.)
- Better Buildings Partnership Leasing Lifecycle Tool
"Green Leases Toolkit 2.0" (California Sustainability Alliance, updated 2017) can be used by both landlords and tenants who manage or occupy large portfolios of facilities
- Landlord toolkit:
- Specs that need to be included when developing a green work letter.
- Green marketing materials example
- Guidance on the Energy Star Portfolio manager
- Tenant toolkit:
- Establishing green leasing goals
- Sample policy statement that defines your intended sustainability goals for leased facilities
- Guidance on developing a green request for proposal (RFP)
- Sample green lease provisions for building certifications, water use, energy use, waste diversion, and more
- Creating a green attribute scorecard for each building
- Identifying baseline green objectives to pursue throughout the leasing process
Green Lease Leaders (Institute of Market Transformation) recognizes companies or brokerage teams that successfully implement green lease language into new or existing leases. The Green Lease Leaders program strives to move green leasing forward by simultaneously setting standards for what constitutes a green lease and recognizing leaders in the field.
Risks to Properties and Buildings
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The Physical Climate Risk Assessment Methodology (PCRAM) — This global practitioner’s guide, developed by Mott MacDonald and the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment, supplies practical tools to identify and assess the resilience of infrastructure assets. Designed to enhance the financial valuation of investments, instead of minimizing losses, PCRAM uses a new methodology that gives infrastructure owners and operators the means to evaluate physical climate risks to infrastructure and analyze their long-term impact on asset performance. (Oct 2022)
The global steel industry may see as much as $70 billion in stranded assets from 2030-2040 due to building new blast furnaces using coal, which could become unnecessary or inoperable as the world slashes carbon emissions, according to Global Energy Monitor. (July 2021)
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“Decarbonizing Real Estate: Foundations for Success” (Share Action) finds a ten-year delay in adopting climate mitigation and adaptation across the global real estate sector could result in $2.5 trillion in additional costs attributable to physical damage, higher utility costs, stranded assets, and retrofitting. (February 2021)
Coastal flooding and rising sea levels could endanger more than 250 million people and nearly $13 trillion worth of coastal buildings and infrastructure by the end of the century, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Melbourne. The study also estimates that nearly 204 million people and $11 billion in assets could be exposed to coastal flooding and rising sea levels by 2050. (August 2020)
“Troubled Waters” (BlackRock Investment Institute, July 2020) finds that roughly 60% of global real estate investment trust (REIT) properties are projected to experience high water-stress by 2030 due to increased urbanization and the effects of climate change — which is more than double the number today. The report also finds that roughly two-thirds of today’s U.S. REIT properties will be at high risk of water stress by 2030 and almost all REIT properties in Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia will likely be in high risk water zones by 2030.
Green Building Trends
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30% of projected demand for low carbon office space will not be met by 2025, leading to a potential gap exceeding 70% by 2030, based on new research in 21 cities, from global real estate services company JLL. It finds that for every three square meters of global demand for low carbon, sustainable office space, less than one square meter is in the pipeline. (March 2024)
Buildings Benchmark (The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) and CDP) — Finds that 50 major companies across the building sector (including property developers, managers, and construction companies) don’t have emissions targets and climate transition plans in place. 54% of the 50 companies surveyed (operating in over 91 countries) lack climate transition plans and 44% lack emission reductions targets. Only five of 32 companies with significant development or construction activities have a net-zero target that includes the in-use emissions of delivered buildings, and none of these include a time-bound roadmap. As the report also makes clear, “as a result of the longevity of buildings, the choices that the sector makes today risk locking in emissions for decades to come,” and calls on companies to develop zero-carbon-ready buildings and stop building ones that will need renovation or rebuild. (April 2023)
55% of decision-makers in the commercial real estate sector say investor and occupier demand for green or sustainable buildings has risen in the last 12 months,
according to a global survey of over 4,000 decision-makers in the built environment field conducted by the World Built Environment Forum and the UK’s Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Demand was highest in Europe, at 69%, and lowest in the Middle East and Africa, at 39%. (Aug 2021)
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Climate-Resilient Infrastructure
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Low Carbon Concrete Routemap: Setting the agenda for a path to net zero (Low Carbon Concrete Group and The Green Construction Board) — Delivers recommendations from industry experts to cut the GHS emissions associated with the concrete—the most widely used construction material in the world. The production of cement, the active ingredient in concrete, accounts for 90 % of concrete GHG emissions and an estimated 4–5% of total global GHG emissions. This report lays out three decarbonization routes for the industry, based on varying rates of advancement in concrete carbon sequestration and actions taken by industry leaders, government, and end users like designers and other clients. The most modest scenario has overall concrete emissions falling by 50% by 2035, and the most ambitious lays out a path for concrete to become a net carbon sink in the 2040s by incorporating carbon sequestration techniques. The report’s authors encourage a collaborative approach among industry professionals, end users, policymakers, and other stakeholders to (May 2022):
- Create a standardized rating system to clarify the carbon emissions of various concrete mixtures, allowing end users to select low carbon options more easily.
- Update technical standards for the industry to emphasize the decarbonization priority and the latest materials and techniques that will contribute to that goal.
- Focus on structural design that requires less concrete and lower-carbon concrete mixes.
- Accelerate research into options for reducing the cement content in concrete.
Give concrete suppliers project specifications with enough lead time that they can select concrete mixes that meet structural requirements with minimal carbon footprint.
Infrastructure Pathways (International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure, The Resilience Shift, in partnership with Arup)
— A new platform to help private-sector companies, investors, NGOs, and other groups build climate-resilient infrastructure with a whole-lifecycle approach.
(Nov 2021)
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