Experts from the COP26 summit have stated that the commercial real estate industry is responsible for 40 percent of global carbon emissions. They have urged the industry to find more energy-efficient ways to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
Commercial real estate needs to make significant strides to become more sustainable in the coming years to reduce the impact buildings have on the planet. This includes finding more innovative ways to reduce energy consumption, embrace green building and reduce waste.
Discover the top five ways the Canadian commercial real estate industry is becoming more sustainable.
Why Should Commercial Real Estate Be More Sustainable?
The commercial real estate industry stands to benefit from competitive advantages if they embrace sustainability. By adopting more sustainable practices and becoming more efficient, businesses can produce up to 39 percent less carbon dioxide than if they were to continue operating as they are. In addition to reducing their impact on the environment, cutting their emissions also decreases the cost of utilities, providing financial benefit.
Adopting sustainable practices may also make commercial properties more attractive to potential tenants, increasing profits across the industry. This is because tenants may wish to find ways of cutting their business’ carbon emissions and actively seek more eco-friendly properties. Therefore, finding ways to operate more sustainably can help the commercial real estate industry overcome financial difficulties.
Top 5 Ways Commercial Real Estate Is Becoming More Sustainable in Canada
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1. HVAC Systems
Heating, ventilation and cooling systems are necessary to fight long hot summers and bitterly cold winters, but these systems come at a high environmental cost.
The technology is there to reduce our energy consumption. Heat pumps are a proven technology that operate at 300-400 percent efficiency, significantly cutting consumption both for heating, cooling and hot water. They have been around for years and cold climate heat pumps work well even in cold climates like Canada.
2. Operations and Maintenance
Commercial properties run HVAC systems constantly to regulate temperatures and ventilation within buildings. This relies on a vast amount of energy, meaning businesses increase their reliance on fossil fuels.
To curb this, the real estate industry has been using occupancy management tools to optimize how, where and when HVAC systems are used within a building. This means systems to heat, cool and ventilate based on who is in the building and where they are instead of simply heating or cooling the entire building. Optimizing energy consumption reduces energy wastage, cuts utility costs and decreases carbon footprints.
This same approach to improving efficiencies can be applied across the board when it comes to the operation and maintenance of buildings. Other operational changes include lowering thermostats in the winter a couple of degrees and raising them in the summer and increasing the use of passive ventilation. In terms of maintenance, small shifts on the scale of commercial buildings can have a sizeable impact. For example, a building operator can seek out a commercial cleaning company in Canada that uses non-toxic, biodegradable cleaning products or they can set up (or increase the use of) recycling and composting programs.
3. Smart Buildings
Similar to how you can now control your lighting and heating from your phone, smart building IoT sensors mean that administrators can automate lighting systems based on motion and occupancy levels within a building. This means it’s unnecessary to keep building lights on round the clock.
Additionally, these sensors can preheat and cool rooms based on the time of day and occupancy trends, reducing the need to heat and cool the building randomly as this wastes more energy over time.
Optimizing these systems only to operate when in use means that businesses can significantly reduce their energy consumption, and the commercial real estate industry can begin to move towards a greener future.
4. Greener Building Design
The Canadian CRE industry is seeing innovation in building design that is leading to more energy-efficiency. Some of the leading green building design trends include:
More communal spaces – With the rise of hybrid working, assigned office space is only used a fraction of the time. So, to maximize the utility of spaces and streamline building design, the Canadian CRE industry is implementing more communal and multipurpose spaces.
More natural light – Modern building design maximizes natural light with larger windows, glass corridors and mirrors. Maximizing the natural light inside a building reduces the need for artificial lighting, conserving energy and making commercial spaces more comfortable.
Micro-filtering plants – CRE innovators in Canada are incorporating micro-filtering plants into building design. The plants help to absorb pollutants from the air, reducing the building’s contribution to climate change.
5. Integration
One significant way that commercial real estate is becoming more sustainable is by re-imagining the usage of current and new commercial buildings. Single-use buildings fail to factor in other activities employees could use their office for. This includes decompression and recreational spaces, meeting and conferencing spaces and lounging areas.
Commercial real estate is moving towards integrating several uses into a single building, removing the need for multiple construction projects and wasted building materials. Now, commercial real estate can benefit from mixed-use spaces and potentially incorporate several businesses and functions into a space.
Optimizing this space and integrating multiple functions can save the commercial real estate industry significant money and reduce the amount of land necessary.
Feature image: ActionVance; Image 1: Nastuh Abootalebi
