Blog

August 6, 2012

Companies Deploy Guidebooks for Sustainable Real Estate to Improve Portfolio Performance

 

 On the path to more sustainable and high performance real estate (RE), many companies have established company-wide policies as well as goals and targets that define internal measures for performance. Implementing policies and targets and ensuring consistency across regions can be rather challenging. Leading companies, therefore, develop guidance and tools in the form of Guidebook for Sustainable Real Estate that complement policies and offer greater flexibility on the local level. At Sustainability Roundtable, Inc.’s July 26 Webinar, SBER Member-Client Executives and experts discussed best practices in developing and utilizing guidebooks, including specific tools.

During the webinar SR Inc presented its Global Guidebook,  which is based on SBER-Member Clients’ guidebooks and includes implementation guidance and tools covering the four phases of the asset lifecycle: Acquisition, Design and Construction, Operations and Maintenance, and De-acquisition. Sample guidance and tools include:

• Vision Statements and Policies
•  Site Selection Tool
• Lease Guidance
• Facility Management Contracting Guidance and Templates
• Energy Management Plan

 Featured Member-Client Case Studies included Apollo Group, GSA, and Oracle. Additionally, Paul Reale from the Urban Green Council presented the Energy Aligned Clause (http://www.nyc.gov/html/gbee/downloads/pdf/eac_presentation.pdf) and Stacy Lee from the New York City Mayor’s Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability discussed the city’s energy benchmarking initiatives.

Key takeaways from SBER’s Global Guidebook include:

•   Leaders provide a comprehensive guidebook across all four phases of the asset lifecycle to clarify the sustainability program, achieve greater awareness, and ensure adoption of best practices across the portfolio.
• Guidebooks offer an effective complement to policies and often offer greater flexibility at the regional level.
• Leaders customize the guidebook elements for different audiences and deploy it in an interactive format; ease of use and accessibility is a critical success factor to widespread adoption.
•  Leading companies enlist experts with specialized knowledge in RE sustainability to assist in the development of guidebooks.

To download a copy of SBER’s Global Guidebook for Sustainable Real Estate, click here to access SR Inc’s Member-Only Digital Library. To learn more about gaining access to the Digital Library for your company or organization, leave a note through our Inquiry Form or Contact Us directly. Have a best practice of your own to share? Tell us about it in the comments!

SR Inc’s Research & Consulting Team (research@sustainround.com)