On Wednesday, January 10, ULI hosted their webcast “ULI Global Sustainability Outlook 2024” where they discussed, not emerging trends, but what key things would be focused on in 2024. The panel discussion reviewed five areas identified for Real Estate. I am excited for what these will mean for Multifamily.
- Linking sustainability performance and financial performance
This excites me because I am a fan of the Triple Bottom line (People, Planet, Profit). We need to look at performance holistically; often we will find that there is a positive link between the sustainability performance (reduced consumption) and the financial performance of an asset. ROI is going to become the gold standard and we are going to run simulations on fixtures to see which, over the lifetime of the component, improves the financial position of the property.
- Going back to basics to advance decarbonization
You and I get a gold star for this one. Decarbonization happens when we use less energy. What we have discussed already falls into this camp. Remember to look up to see if your lights are on during the day. You just decarbonized.
- Complying with an evolving regulatory landscape
This is quite the buzz in our field as new compliance benchmarking mandates rev up and more jurisdictions add building performance standards related to Energy Star scores, energy use intensity, etc. We can dig into this one more next week.
- Prioritizing resilience as extreme weather intensifies
Personally, I think that this one is overdue. Last year we had a tremendous number of extreme weather events. I am frankly surprised that we are just now looking at what we need to do to prepare our properties and serve our residents. Do we have wrapped pipes, so they are less likely to freeze? Can our AC units keep pace with demand? If not, is it due to the building envelope and do we need to seal it? Do we have backup generators for blackouts to make our properties safe and give our residents a lit place to be a community during a catastrophic event? Why wouldn’t we do this?
- Approaching sustainability holistically (including health and wellbeing)
This is the one that excites me the most. We have talked about gas appliances and carbon monoxide poisoning. Selling the health benefits of electrification requires Marketing to do the voodoo they do. We do not talk about how our buildings affect the health and well-being of our residents. However, we know that it matters to them as we all remember when they started asking about indoor air quality and safety during the pandemic. Imagine what would happen if we really promoted the health and safety of our properties? “We offer electric stoves for the health of you and your family.” “Our community has LED lighting on its pathways so they are brightly lit for your safety.” “Our saltwater pool has the PH of human tears, making it less harmful to your hair and skin.” Have we ever shared with our residents all the amazing things we do for their health? Commercial buildings have shared these aspects successfully for years. I am excited to see how our residents feel about our communities when they see our efforts.
