Close your eyes for a second and imagine the word “emissions.” What came to mind?
If you’re like many others, you thought of a car’s tailpipe (though that perception is quickly changing thanks to EVs). But did you know that real estate makes up almost 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions? To put things into perspective, that’s more than all the world’s transportation emissions combined—that includes airplanes, cars, trains, and other modes. (Transportation only accounts for about 24% of the global carbon footprint.)
If almost 40% of global emissions sounds high, it is, but emissions in the real estate sector break down into two categories that bring these numbers into perspective:
1. Operating emissions from energy use from day-to-day heating, cooling, and electricity. These make up 28% of global annual emissions.
2. Embedded or embodied carbon emissions from a building’s construction. It includes building materials—primarily from steel and concrete, which are very carbon-intensive to manufacture—material transportation, and construction processes and makes up about 11% of global emissions.
Because the real estate industry plays a significant part in climate change, it must also play an essential part in keeping the global warming threshold under 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels.
See how Sustain.Life can fundamentally change your path to net-zero
Request a demo
Inaction has costs
Real estate is in a moment of transition. Real estate operators and owners have started to include the cost of carbon in their financial models. Why? Because progressive states and cities are beginning to push carbon-centric laws to meet their climate goals.
Take New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act as an example. It’s a series of building-focused bills that limit carbon emissions by square footage. It also establishes a cap-and-trade market and fines owners $268 per ton of carbon emitted over defined limits. That means real estate companies must both measure and actively manage their emissions.
Both California and New York have taken steps to effectively ban natural gas lines in new construction, further forcing a shift toward electrification, which begs for a cleaner grid and a more significant shift to renewable energy.
Will these regulations in progressive cities and states compel operators to reduce emissions? Yes. But real estate stakeholders across the globe have a unique opportunity to get in front of regulations in their cities and realize cost savings now. Through energy efficiency projects and decarbonization efforts, real estate stakeholders can see almost an immediate reduction in operating costs and protection from volatile energy markets to the tune of billions of dollars.
How real estate stakeholders can impact the built environment
Development, architecture, and construction aside, real estate stakeholders—operators, asset managers, and even tenants—must lead the charge and create scalable, long-term climate impact solutions that also generate scalable long-term value for all parties.
To comply with efficiency standards—and save money on energy costs—real estate operators can retrofit existing buildings’ heating, cooling, and electricity systems. That means projects like switching to LED light fixtures and switching from oil and gas heating systems to electric. It also means switching to clean energy options where possible.
In addition to reducing emissions and saving on energy costs, green buildings have knock-on benefits. Tenants perceive buildings with positive certifications—LEED, BREAM, WELL, for example—as innovators and market leaders. Buildings that ensure the safety and wellbeing of occupants and tenants and help their occupants save on operating costs differentiate themselves from their competitors. That means they can also achieve top market rent and better ROI for real estate investors.
So if you’re a real estate operator, the time is now to start managing your building‘s emissions—the climate crisis and your bottom line depend on it.
