Building Sustainable Cities

In this day and age, sustainability is often touted as an innate feature of many companies and cities, but most still struggle to measure their impact and take real steps towards change. This is a specific challenge for the building industry whose impact accounts for more than 40% of global GHG emissions. 

Tackling climate change in the built environment requires a multi prong approach. Yes! Definitely institute that environmental purchasing policy, but also tie project metrics to environmental outcomes. Go out and procure renewable energy credits but also make sure to evaluate each development for onsite renewables. Becoming greener takes a thoughtful and comprehensive approach. And, when it’s done right- it increases value to core business operations.

Not every company’s pathway towards sustainability looks the same. That’s why sustainable change takes change management and buy-in from all levels of an enterprise. Through conversation and consensus building, I’ve led the co-creation and implementation of corporate sustainability strategies. This has involved:

• Benchmarking and calculating a company’s environmental impact

• Setting SMART goals tailored to a company’s DNA and tied to existing business practices 

• Launching new initiatives to expand recycling efforts, energy efficiency upgrades, and install hundreds of EV chargers

• Developing carbon neutral or net zero emissions plans