Future of Real Estate

Media

• With buildings contributing 38% of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, industry leaders have a critical role to play in lowering their global real estate emissions

• New Action Plan features 10 principles for business leaders to make substantial progress on decarbonizing their real estate footprints

• Companies across industries are urged to formally adopt the principles and pledge to reduce their buildings-related emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and to be fully net-zero carbon no later than 2050

• Read more on the Green Building Principles: The Action Plan for Net-Zero Carbon

New York, USA, 26 October 2021 – Collective action must be taken to accelerate the decarbonization of buildings, which contribute 38% of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. A new Action Plan released today by the World Economic Forum offers a set of principles to help companies deliver net-zero carbon buildings and meet key climate commitments.

The Green Building Principles: The Action Plan for Net Zero Carbon provides a clear sequence of steps to deliver net-zero carbon buildings. Developed in conjunction with JLL and the Forum’s Real Estate CEO community, it includes a set of key principles companies can formally adopt along with an Action Plan on how to implement them.

“The climate crisis is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. It will affect every aspect of our lives and threatens the entire global economy and we must rapidly deploy the solutions we already have in hand to avert its most catastrophic impacts,” said Al Gore, Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001), Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management. “Buildings are a large and often overlooked contributor to this crisis, but with investments in clean energy and energy efficiency, we can begin solving the climate crisis, create tens of millions of jobs, and build a better future.”

“As increased action on the climate crisis becomes more urgent every year, it’s important that all leaders find new ways to take action,” said Børge Brende, President, World Economic Forum. “Business leaders have a great opportunity to take climate action just by ensuring their own offices and properties are sustainable and moving towards a net-zero future. Increasing sustainability in the office, and across value chains, is a critical step for all businesses to take.”

“2021 has been the year of net zero carbon commitments. As part of this, the built environment has demonstrated leadership with companies, investors, architects, cities, and regions signing up to the Race to Zero,” said Nigel Topping, High-Level Climate Action Champion, COP26 Climate Champions, United Kingdom. “2022 will be the year in which we develop strategies for meaningfully delivering against these net zero carbon commitments. This Action Plan launched by the World Economic Forum provides the guidance that real estate portfolios need to do this in a comprehensive and cost-effective way.”

The Principles:

1. Calculate a robust carbon footprint of your portfolio in the most recent representative year to inform targets

2. Set a target year for achieving net-zero carbon, by 2050 at the latest, and an interim target for reducing at least 50% of these emissions by 2030

3. Measure and record embodied carbon of new developments and major refurbishments.

4. Maximize emissions reductions for all new developments and major refurbishments in the pipeline to ensure delivery of net-zero carbon (operational and embodied) by selected final target year

5. Drive energy optimization across both existing assets and new developments

6. Maximize supply of on-site renewable energy.

7. Ensure 100% off-site energy is procured from renewable-backed sources, where available

8. Engage with stakeholders with whom you have influence in your value chain to reduce scope 3 emissions

9. Compensate for any residual emissions by purchasing high-quality carbon offsets

10. Engage with stakeholders to identify joint endeavours and equitably share costs and benefits of interventions

The Action Plan provides globally applicable guidance on best practices to implement the Principles for every stakeholder, from owners to occupiers to investors.

Industry Leadership

“The pandemic has underscored the need for action on climate, and buildings provide the perfect opportunity to address a large share of global emissions,” said Christian Ulbrich, Global Chief Executive Officer and President, JLL. “We can and must work to deliver net-zero carbon buildings and the companies that do so first will lead the sector.”

“We must act now, and everyone from engineers to occupiers to investors have to be part of this journey,” said Coen van Oostrom, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, EDGE. “The principles offer the necessary roadmap and companies of all types need to evolve their mindsets around their buildings. We must think in terms of renovation, circularity and digitalization. Viewing the built environment as supportive to societal well-being and the planet is the necessary paradigm shift.”

Ahead of November’s COP26, both the public and private sectors have been making commitments to reduce emissions and reach key climate targets in alignment with the Paris Agreement. These commitments are essential and many of them provide valuable guidance. But the roadmap for meeting these targets has been missing. The new principles and action plan provide that roadmap and help companies implement their existing commitments.

In an open letter also released today, the Forum’s Real Estate CEO community Co-Chairs Ulbrich and van Oostrom urge their peers, across a wide range of industries, to formally adopt the principles and commit to reducing their buildings-related emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and deliver net-zero carbon real estate portfolios no later than 2050.

“The World Green Building Council encourages companies to reinforce climate action by adopting the World Economic Forum's new Principles, which set out a clear pathway to deliver net-zero carbon buildings,” said Cristina Gamboa, Chief Executive Officer, World Green Building Council. “The Principles are harmonious with our Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment and we hope that businesses across all industries take this opportunity to step-up ambition to decarbonize their building portfolios.”

“We are running out of time and the built environment is critical to mitigate warming,” said Kalin Bracken, Real Estate Lead, World Economic Forum. “This is an issue that goes beyond just the real estate industry. Every industry has a role to play in addressing their real estate footprint and that’s a message we really need to send.”

• From indoor air quality to a lack of flexibility, COVID-19 has exposed how buildings are falling short in providing livable, healthy and sustainable spaces

• Real estate’s vulnerabilities, exposed by the pandemic, have increased urgency in the drive for innovation throughout the industry

• Developed with global real estate chief executives, the World Economic Forum’s Framework for the Future of Real Estate maps how the industry can transform to ensure buildings and cities are liveable, sustainable, resilient and affordable

• Read more on the Future of Real Estate Framework here

New York, USA, 21 April 2021 – The real estate industry needs to transform to serve the needs of people and cities in the next decade, according to a new report released today by the World Economic Forum. COVID-19 has revealed vulnerabilities throughout the real estate industry, ranging from indoor air quality problems to excess supply and accelerated underlying demand drivers, which need to be addressed for buildings and cities to be healthier, prosperous and more sustainable.

The new World Economic Forum report, “A Framework for the Future of Real Estate,” acts as a road map for industry change. Developed with global real estate chief executives, the framework provides a pathway to transform buildings and cities to become liveable, sustainable, resilient and affordable.

“Real estate stands at a crossroads as cities adjust to the new realities of a post-COVID era, climate change and the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” said Jeff Merritt, Head of IoT and Urban Transformation at the World Economic Forum. “This transformation of real estate – and the market disruption that comes along with it – is long overdue but, if fully embraced, promises to help us all live healthier, happier and more connected lives.”

“Today the real estate industry is facing challenges and consequently is given a chance to do better, to take more steps towards a healthier future and to make a global sustainable impact,” says Coen van Oostrom, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, EDGE, OVG Real Estate. “To optimize buildings, not only should we rethink spaces, users’ behaviours, and energy efficiency but we should also bring a stronger focus on redevelopment opportunities, circular economy, and digitalization. Let us stop waiting for others to set the example and start today, by committing to everyday incremental changes. Ultimately, we must keep a close eye on the bigger picture to be leaders in the transition to a more sustainable way of operating.”

For more than a decade, the real estate industry has experienced tremendous profitability with successful growth rates and rising investment volumes of +14% compound annual growth rate. Initially, this success put less pressure on industry leaders to innovate, but now the industry is coming under pressure from consumers, investors and regulators to better serve the health and resilience of their communities. At the same time, the lasting effects of the pandemic and the acceleration of existing trends have brought the industry to a tipping point.

“The pandemic has accelerated changes in work and lifestyles that had already been gathering pace over recent years, driven in large part by new technology,” said Christian Ulbrich, Global Chief Executive Officer and President, JLL. “As we plan for a sustainable global post-pandemic recovery, this World Economic Forum framework shows how our industry has a vital part to play in coming together to shape the future of real estate for a better world.”

The Future of Real Estate Framework identifies key enablers real estate leaders can use to ensure they are working throughout the industry to provide real estate options that are liveable, sustainable, resilient and affordable.

Key enablers

• Accelerating digitalization and innovation to address everything from construction costs to the occupant experience

• Value-proof business cases that are transparent and demonstrate a clear return on investment in relation to technology, sustainability and affordable housing

• Prioritizing talent and knowledge by upskilling existing workers and attracting talent dedicate to areas of innovation while ensuring diversity and inclusion

• Engaging stakeholders, throughout the industry value chain and within the local community, to ensure projects are mutually beneficial

The framework also includes case studies from various real estate companies and exemplify the vision of the four key pillars of liveable, sustainable, resilient and affordable buildings and cities.

Industry action

Industry leaders have already taken decisive action towards transformation throughout the real estate industry. Gensler’s GC3 Commitment aims to achieve net zero by 2030 in all Gensler projects and JLL’s work with the Washington Metro will provide clean energy to more than 1,500 homes.

Swire Properties has joined the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign and Lendlease has pledged to harness digitization to be net carbon zero by 2025 and absolute carbon zero by 2040.

Majid Al Futtaim has become the first and only conglomerate in the world to achieve LEED Platinum certification for its entire portfolio of hotels.

Signify has embraced sustainability and resilience by developing and deploying UV-C disinfection systems, an energy efficient and chemical-free way to sanitize buildings.

Schneider Electric has set clear, measurable 2025 targets around sustainability to achieve 80% green revenues, deliver 800 million tons of saved and avoided emissions to their customers and have 1,000 of their top suppliers reduce emissions by 50% from their operations.

Learnings from these companies’ initiatives and many others were used to help develop the Future of Real Estate Framework which aims to accelerate these types of transformation across the industry.

Media inquiries related to this initiative can be directed to Madeleine Hillyer, Media Relations, +1 646 592 5044 mhll@weforum.org