Dive Brief:
- The Urban Land Institute’s Greenprint Center for Building Performance released its sixth annual Greenprint Performance Report, which reported that its members — 36 real estate firms representing 5,224 buildings in 51 countries — continue to significantly reduce their properties' energy and water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
- This year’s Greenprint found that between 2013 and 2014, members lowered energy consumption by 3.3%, reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2.7%, decreased electric consumption by 2%, and saw a 1.9% reduction in water use.
- Greenprint’s goal is to reach a 50% reduction in building emissions and energy by 2030, and since it began reporting member energy consumption and greenhouse emissions in 2009, total energy consumption of members' buildings fell by 11%, carbon emissions by 10.8%, cost of energy by 4.5%, electricity by 12.7%, and water use fell by 9%.
Dive Insight:
ULI's report offers specific examples of how builders and developers were able to achieve these reductions. AvalonBay, for example, replaced 3,575 toilets in 2,546 of its California apartments and saved 4.2 million gallons of water per year.
Aside from its members' accomplishments in reducing energy and water consumption and greenhouse emissions, the report also highlights the work that still has to be done in energy conservation.
The report said the most common indicators of climate change — atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, global temperature increases and sea level rise — have increased significantly over the past several decades and are now at record-breaking levels.
ULI's Greenprint Center urges its members to consider the impact natural disasters can have on economic growth and asset value of their properties, and to plan accordingly by using the ULI’s Urban Resilience Program as a guide.
