Strategic recommendations: Accelerate performance-based policies and certifications: Building on well-established credentialing mechanisms, a next generation of policies and certification schemes that measure success based on a building’s actual emissions are necessary to ensure climate targets are met. Standardization across the policy landscape is also essential to support compliance and better benchmark progress. According to a recent study by JLL,11 green certifications remain one of the most popular ways to assess a building’s sustainability credentials. However, many of today’s green building certifications still focus on design and construction rather than energy and emissions performance. As more corporate occupiers look to reduce their emissions, certifications are starting to evolve to rate buildings on their operational sustainability. CASE STUDY 3 Decarbonizing industrial assets Three distinct industrial projects in three vastly different regions demonstrate what is possible for this asset class to achieve efficiency and on-site energy generation. In São Paulo, Embu I Warehouse 9, the last warehouse of a 1.6 million-square-foot logistics campus, was a greenfield development that achieved LEED Gold. A rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system delivers on-site generation of clean electricity, and the building is outfitted with EV charging infrastructure. Design features to reduce energy consumption include the installation of prismatic skylights, which harness natural light, along with an automated system to adjust lighting throughout the day. The reduced energy consumption has translated into significant savings for the tenant as well. Bukit Batok Connection (BBC), a nine-story, 378,000-square-foot industrial facility in Singapore, was acquired and upgraded with a specific focus on sustainability, ultimately achieving Green Mark Certification. Green leases were implemented to improve energy consumption, LED lights were installed across the building to improve efficiency and a partnership was created with a global company to install EV charging infrastructure for tenants and third-party electric car and truck users. East Midlands Distribution Centre (EMDC) in East Midlands, UK, was a brownfield redevelopment that helped bolster the local economy. Achieving BREEAM Excellent, the logistics facility can provide on-site generation of clean electricity with the roof structure able to accommodate a rooftop PV system along with electric vehicle (EV) charging. Source: Hines Promote circular economy practices: Focusing on reuse during capital projects like new construction or renovation can help address the embodied carbon component of building emissions. The construction sector should incorporate circular economy principles by reusing materials from demolished buildings and reducing raw material intake. Municipalities can facilitate this transition by establishing material exchange platforms and implementing regulations that mandate material reuse where feasible.While sometimes demolition is necessary, building retrofits should be encouraged to help avoid the additional embodied carbon cost associated with ground-up construction. Innovative planning mechanisms, flexible zoning and financial incentives can help encourage retrofits or adaptive reuse in cases where changing a building’s use is necessary to avoid obsolescence.Embu I Warehouse 9 BBC EMDC Reimagining Real Estate: A Framework for the Future 24

Reimagining Real Estate 2024