Green building practices are increasingly prominent across the real estate industry because they save money, improve efficiency, lower carbon emissions and create healthy places for people to live, work and play in. Green building practices are essential tools in fighting climate change and reaching ESG goals. But how will investors finance these much-needed modifications?
After many years of making the case for why we need green buildings in the first place, there is a real convergence of financial resources, policy advances, growing business commitments and an abundance of technologies for emissions reductions, observed Mahesh Ramanujam, CEO of Global Network for Zero. “2023 will be remembered as the year when the resources and willpower needed to implement net zero solutions were assembled en masse,” he noted.
Green building theme: Net zero
Leaders in the green building community have set a common theme: achieving net zero. But progress has been slow.
“They want a shared definition of what zero emissions are, better ROI data to make the business case, and a roadmap they can leverage to get there successfully,” said Ramanujam.
On the policy front, the Inflation Reduction Act and local standards like New York’s LL97 have been making waves. Equally exciting is the Biden Administration’s focus on building performance standards for federal properties, “the landmark White House Climate Resilient Framework and new funding for energy codes and decarbonization,” Ramanujam noted.
The Biden Administration has also promised a national definition of zero-emissions buildings for non-federally owned properties.