The commercial real estate (CRE) sector engaged in peer exchanges, shared presentations, and joined networking events at the 2024 Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit. Partners and attendees discussed best practices, explored barriers in decarbonization and how to overcome them, and shared progress.
Better Buildings utilizes the content of these discussions to understand the most pressing topics for building owners and operators that are working to enable highly energy efficient and low-carbon buildings. CRE partners focused on the following topics:
- The role of renewable energy credits in pursuing zero emissions
- Accessing whole building data from utilities and methods to standardize data collection
- Understanding best practices for implementing heat pumps
- Undergoing the transition to low global warming potential refrigerants
- Renewed urgency for grid interactivity and flexibility as more buildings electrify
- A central source to digest and adhere to local building performance standards through the U.S.
Read on for an overview of sessions highlighting commercial real estate sector partners and allies.
Special Session: 10 Years of Green Lease Leaders
The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and DOE held a special session to celebrate 10 years of Green Lease Leaders. The session explored where green leasing stands today and what the next phase of green leasing will look like considering current market drivers. Participants broke out into sector-specific working groups to facilitate peer-to-peer discussions with landlords, tenants, and leasing agents.
The session also announced the 2024 Green Lease Leaders and Supporting Partners along with other recognitions from the last 10 years. The following Better Buildings CRE partners and allies were recognized for their achievements in green leasing: AvalonBay Communities; CommonWealth Partners; Jamestown; JBG Smith; Kimco; Lendlease; Link Logistics; Newmark; Prologis, Inc.; Tishman Speyer; The Tower Companies; and Vornado Realty Trust.
Learn more about this year’s Green Lease Leaders here.
15 to Phasedown: Best Practices for Replacing HFCs with Low-GWP Refrigerants
In this session, partner Paramount Pictures shared how it is incorporating low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants into its refrigeration and HVAC systems. Learn about the hydrofluorocarbons phasedown and how partners have implemented low-GWP refrigerants here.
Current Solutions: How to Electrify Water Heating in Your Buildings
Partner Columbia Association shared its success electrifying hot water systems to decarbonize its buildings. Learn from the partner about when and where heat pump water heaters are a good fit and alternatives in the market, and explore relevant resources to help decarbonize water heating here.
Digging Deeper: Embodied Carbon in Commercial Buildings
Partner AvalonBay Communities highlighted examples of reducing embodied carbon in its buildings. Gain a better understanding of the role of embodied carbon in decarbonization, how it impacts operational carbon, the effects of material and equipment choices, and what tools are available to help reduce embodied carbon in the presentation slides here.
From Targets to Action: How Organizations Developed an Actionable GHG Emissions Reduction Plan
Many organizations have publicly committed to reducing operational greenhouse gas emissions while few have developed a detailed plan on how to get there. Better Climate Challenge Goal Achiever BXP delved into the process for creating an emissions reduction plan, sharing lessons learned and a summary of the common barriers and approaches. Learn more about best practices for portfolio-wide decarbonization here.
The Ally Perspective: Innovations in the Marketplace
Better Climate Challenge and Design & Construction allies track marketplace trends and share best practices. Learn from representatives from International Facility Management Association, The Real Estate Roundtable, Smith Group, and Urban Land Institute about their perspective on the most effective and innovative approaches to decarbonization. Presentation slides can be viewed here.