The Imperative of Science-Based Pathways to Net Zero
It’s time to get to work. With more than 30% of global emissions attributed to the built environment, the real estate sector has a tremendous role to play in softening the most catastrophic consequences of our warming planet. Thankfully, many real estate companies have moved past the era of lofty, mismanaged sustainability goals and have begun setting net zero targets that align with the latest climate science.
Centering Social Equity in Climate Risk Analysis and ESG Reporting
There’s much to celebrate in the advancement of climate-informed investment decisions. This is largely owing to the growth of actionable data that measures climate and environmental risk and opportunities — the “E” in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). However, there is little captured about “S,” which means that these climate-informed decisions can be made without considering social impacts.
Tackle the Climate Crisis by Tackling the Data Crisis!
When we support our clients in their GRESB reporting season, it becomes clear time and again that data availability and quality are often a challenge. Despite the increased use of software solutions, the situation has not changed much.
Reporting ESG Data in 2021: Meeting High Investor Expectations in the Wake of COVID-19
Businesses are expected to have timely, accurate, and verifiable financial information on hand at all times. As investor appetite for ESG disclosure and sustainability reports increases, the demand for non-financial data is rising nearly to that level of expectation. Stakeholders, as well as the public, are acutely aware of the risks associated with a company’s poor sustainability performance, unfavorable working conditions, and lack of diversity among management, and other factors.
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Most sustainability professionals have heard this adage enough times to repeat it in our sleep (and possibly elicit an eye roll). Still, the unfortunate truth is that the “measure” part of the equation is often easier said than done.
The case for “bounce-forward” climate-resilient infrastructure
Because climate change is constantly shifting the overall environmental equilibrium, “bounce-back” approaches are becoming less and less applicable in practice. A “bounce-forward” approach accounts for continuous adaptation to disturbances or changes to the steady state.
Defining Resilience: A People-First Approach to Protecting Places
In my years working at the intersection of health and design, I’ve noticed that something interesting tends to happen in conversations about resilience. Often, when the word is mentioned, everyone nods in vigorous agreement – while thinking of very different things.In real estate, of course, resilience tends to be all about designing structures to withstand the increasingly violent consequences of a warming earth. The conversation might turn to things like base-isolated corporate campuses or minimalist modern floating homes.
Resilience Management: A Multifaceted Approach to Real Estate Investing
Resilience is an ongoing initiative that continues to evolve rapidly. We believe that developing a comprehensive approach to addressing physical climate risk across the organization is key to resilience management. Our focus on awareness, evaluation, and integration supports us to further future proof our assets as we all look to transition toward a low carbon economy and help the fight against climate change.
4 Ways to Increase Resilience in the Built Environment: Responding to the Threat
The growing severity of climate-related risks and, as 2020 has shown us, the risk of global social, health and financial events we cannot anticipate means we will increasingly need to anticipate, respond, and adapt to a range of risks. To increase the resilience of our built environment, we will need to combine all available approaches: resistance, reliability, redundancy, response and recovery. Together they can help our buildings and infrastructure survive and thrive.
