The latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms that the last five years have been the hottest since 1850, and that “it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, oceans and land.” As the built environment accounts for nearly 40 percent of annual global carbon emissions, action needs to be taken.

The real estate industry is tackling the twin challenges of a cyclical downturn juxtaposed with the long-term consequences from the disruption caused by COVID-19, and the environmental, social, and governance agenda becoming increasingly important.

ULI MEMBER–ONLY CONTENT: ULI full member John McNellis considers how real estate professionals have survived financial winters of the past and present.

In recognition of Women’s History Month, ULI is highlighting people and projects that have worked to advance gender equity and parity in the real estate industry. The Institute’s commitment to addressing the industry’s gender gap is formally seen through the Women’s Leadership Initiative.

There is still time to register for ULI Europe’s flagship event, the ULI Europe Conference, taking place February 8–10, for the first time as a virtual event. Keynote speakers participating in the conference include Lord Norman Foster, founder of Foster + Partners; Carlos Moreno, associate professor at Sorbonne University Paris and a leading proponent of the 15-minute city; Peter Frankopan, professor of global history at Worcester College, Oxford University; Philippe Close, mayor of Brussels; and Ric Lewis, executive chairman of Tristan Capital.

The Initiative for Energy Justice aims to: (1) contribute to a bottom-up movement of energy justice, originating in frontline communities, by arming movement and base-building organizations in the environmental, racial, and economic justice spaces with well-supported policy research and workable transactional models for operationalizing a just transition to renewable energy; and (2) provide city and state policymakers with concrete energy policy frameworks and best practice tools that foreground equity in the transition to renewable energy, drawing on the best available data collected from frontline advocates, existing energy policies, and frameworks designed by our team.

Early engagement with the community and inclusion of culturally significant art can create developments that benefit the existing community and lead to greater return on investment.

ULI MEMBER–ONLY CONTENT: As other segments of the real estate business adjust to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession, the industrial sector is looking to capitalize on greater demand for its facilities resulting from the explosion of e-commerce, panelists said at a Trends and Outlooks session during the 2020 ULI Virtual Fall Meeting.

ULI MEMBER–ONLY CONTENT: The pandemic has triggered a bigger decline in hotel and resort revenues (measured by revenue per available room) than the previous five economic crises combined, said panelists speaking on the hotel and resort sector outlook during the 2020 ULI Virtual Fall Meeting.

Because their decisions are lasting, real estate professionals must lead the way to cutting carbon emissions by 50 percent in this decade and by 100 percent by 2050, Spencer Glendon, senior fellow at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, told participants during the 2020 ULI Virtual Fall Meeting. He exhorted real estate leaders to pressure others for change, even to beg for regulation, in order to avoid potentially chaotic migrations as people eventually abandon areas rendered undesirable or even uninhabitable by rising temperatures and drought. “You can’t do this alone. You must demand better regulation,” he said.