AMLI Residential, a leading developer of sustainable, multifamily properties, announced the results of its fourth annual Sustainable Living Index. This year’s survey polled a record 4,891 AMLI apartment residents asking how their opinions on environmentalism and green initiatives impact their choice on where to live.
The 2020 survey results revealed that 83 percent of residents believe living in a green apartment is beneficial to their health, a 3 percent increase over last year. Residents chose fresh air initiatives, energy-efficiency savings on utilities and smoke-free living as their top three green features.
Due to the current COVID-19 crisis, 71 percent of residents place an increased value on the healthy building features in their apartment communities. Additionally, 41 percent believe they will be working from home more in 2021 than before the pandemic occurred.
At AMLI communities with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, 11 percent more residents agreed that the green features at their community impacted their decision to lease with AMLI versus residents at non-LEED communities. Similarly, 13 percent more residents at AMLI’s LEED communities reported financial savings from efficient features at their communities versus non-LEED communities’ residents.
“We are grateful that more residents completed this year’s survey than ever before. The high response rate demonstrates our residents’ keen interest in our communities’ healthy building features. They also want to see our features expanded, and we plan to improve our communities to meet this demand,” said Phil Tague, President of AMLI Residential. “AMLI’s broadening use of LEED and other third-party certifications gives our residents context to compare an AMLI community with our competitors. With a much larger percentage of residents working from home over the last five months, and into the foreseeable future, the healthy, green features inside and outside of their apartment homes are more important than ever.”
Climate change remains an important issue for AMLI residents, with 89 percent saying they were concerned—the same as last year—while 75 percent said their desire to find solutions to environmental issues has increased over the last five years, a 4 percent year-over-year increase. A vast majority of AMLI residents recycle, with 92 percent reporting they regularly do so, and half of those people saying they always recycle.
Tague added, “Most AMLI residents express their concern about climate change and its ramifications. They realize that their lifestyle at our communities affects the environment and their health. AMLI prioritizes sustainable practices that are pragmatic and meaningful to make sure our communities’ features are aligned with our residents’ desires. In each of our surveys, we see residents expressing an increasing sense of urgency. That is a great motivator for AMLI to keep its foot on the sustainability accelerator.”
The survey was conducted in July 2020 at properties in AMLI’s nine markets—Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Seattle, Southern California and Southeast Florida.
This year’s survey further contributes to AMLI’s data on resident attitudes about sustainable living and climate change concerns, which AMLI expects will continue to increase over time. AMLI uses the results of these surveys to expand its sustainability efforts and improve residents’ experiences at their apartment communities across the U.S.
AMLI recently received the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) 2020 LEED Homes Outstanding Developer Award as well as the Power Builder Award for the fifth consecutive year. AMLI also received the 2020 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for the second consecutive year, one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) highest honors, for its exemplary commitment and dedication to leadership in energy efficiency and the ENERGY STAR program.
