As part of Building to Zero, an ongoing series of interviews on the decarbonization of the commercial real estate sector, Duane Desiderio, senior vice president and counsel at the Real Estate Roundtable, joins us on a special episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.
Desiderio discussed recent and upcoming activity related to federal policy related to measuring and reducing carbon emissions, climate-related financial risks and opportunities, disclosure and compliance, with Jessica Long, Nareit’s senior vice president of environmental management and sustainability. Supports the efforts of real estate owners. Local building standards.
“Within the last four to five years, the pace at which we’ve seen federal policy now begin to coalesce around greening the built environment, whether it’s our buildings, whether it’s the electric grid, it’s a kind of at a furious pace, Desiderio said. “A year ago, we had the Inflation Reduction Act that offered a series of incentives, grants, loans, and I think especially for our industry, tax “Incentives that can help commercial real estate reduce their emissions, making it more energy efficient.”
The discussion highlighted how the conversation within the commercial real estate industry is at the forefront of making federal climate programs work for several reasons, one of which is that real estate investors want to invest in real estate assets that are clean, green, and healthy. Are .
Desiderio pointed out that the proposed reporting rules cut across all sectors of the economy, but the real estate industry has a long history of working with the U.S. EPA Energy Star to measure and manage buildings using its free online tool, Portfolio Manager. Get the benefit of. Calculate energy, water and waste consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The EPA recently released a list of enhancements that will further assist building owners in their journey to decarbonization.
Other topics include the emergence of state and local building regulations, the need to define net zero for buildings so real estate companies can accurately assess climate risk, and the need to develop better and better tracking of renewable energy certificates (RECs). Importance of ongoing efforts. So that they are not double counted and are available to help reduce offsite building emissions.
