A strategy to decarbonize your business is now essential. COP26 reinforced the global commitment to keep global warming within 1.5℃. Developing a credible plan to achieve net zero will support upcoming regulatory requirements and prepare companies to thrive in a low-carbon economy. With stricter environmental regulations, proptech can help companies comply with ESG values and ensure minimum environmental impact during construction.
Businesses, in order to achieve net zero, must develop a strategy that accomplishes both net zero and strategic ambitions. Areas for adaption are:
Green energy supply
Value chain management and green procurement
Circular economy
Business model innovation
Process effectiveness and efficiency
In 2019 the World Green Building Council estimated that buildings accounted for 39% of global energy-related carbon emissions, 28% of which originate from building operational emissions for heating, cooling, and power, while 11% comes from materials and construction.
Proptech is a solution for reducing carbon emissions in real estate and creating a more sustainable future. Proptech – property technology, utilizes all kinds of digital solutions (such as AI, machine learning, virtual reality, and the internet of things) to help reduce the environmental impact of the built environment. This starts already in the planning phase of buildings and conducts all construction stages, including the maintenance of the completed building. Proptech in maintenance tasks cannot only save energy while using smart energy management systems, the Continental Automated Buildings Association reports that companies can reduce energy consumption by 3% to 9% over two years by analyzing and acting on basic metrics related to energy consumption. Using more advanced analytics systems, energy savings can climb to between 10% and 25%.
These systems integrated into a building deliver all kinds of automation, from energy consumption to flood warnings in case of leakage, and shut off valves automatically to give access to tenant guests. This assists building engineers, but also property managers and asset managers.
The trend is all about reporting environmental data. Specifically, companies will need to show their baseline data. Increased investor focus on property owners’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.
ESG incentivizes companies to disclose the environmental impact of its practices, including the impact of its real estate holdings. These principles will continue to be codified to establish standards of environmental responsibility.
Smart Building technology, BIM (Building Information Modeling) – Proptech leverages technology to disseminate information and is on the forefront to mitigate the environmental impact and achieve carbon net zero goals.
