Given the pressing challenges real estate is facing globally on advancing building decarbonization, ULI is honored to announce that 10 District and National Councils have been selected to participate in the fourth Net Zero Imperative (NZI) Cohort. NZI is a multiyear initiative to accelerate decarbonization in the built environment and is a significant aspect of ULI’s work to advance its net zero mission priority.
Thanks to a generous donation from Owen Thomas and additional gifts from Lynn Thurber, Joe Azrack, Franz Colloredo-Mansfeld, and Dan Cashdan, the NZI began in summer 2021 as a five-year cohort program that sponsors ULI technical assistance panels (TAPs) in localities to help public and private sectors codevelop a path forward for decarbonization of the built environment. Each year, ULI District and National Councils can apply to be part of an NZI cohort to receive funding and headquarters support for either a net zero technical assistance panel or a post-TAP implementation effort building upon the original TAP’s priority recommendations.
In addition to the technical assistance efforts, NZI participants collaborate in a global cohort that shares best practices and solves problems together. Local champions continue to encourage implementation and follow-through of the resulting recommendations. ULI research staff also pulls key themes to create global resources that help the wider real estate industry decarbonize.
“The energy is palpable around real estate’s interest and urgency to act on climate—and partnerships with the public sector enable a stronger business case and coordinated efforts at scale to decarbonize,” says Marta Schantz, co-executive director of the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate. “I’m thrilled to see the ULI Net Zero Imperative’s Cohort 4 participants address important local net zero challenges with globally relevant solutions.”
Find out more about the NZI program on ULI’s website here and by watching a program overview video here. Building on the past successes of the three previous ULI Net Zero Cohorts, ULI is also proud to continue to expand the ULI Net Zero Compendium web page with valuable resources on the journey to net zero.
NZI Cohort 4 participants will lay out actionable steps for local real estate owners, public sector leaders, and broader stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment to reach net zero.
ULI Atlanta – Implementation
ULI Atlanta will coordinate one industry workshop (or more) that will bring together experts with experience in jurisdictions, that have implemented embodied carbon policies, as well as people knowledgeable about Atlanta’s zoning policies. This panel will include professionals involved in policy development, city officials responsible for enforcement, developers/architects/contractors who will be affected by new embodied carbon zoning codes, and consultants specializing in embodied carbon analysis and reporting. The industry workshop will result in recommendations for how Livable Buckhead should adapt zoning codes and how to support the development community in the process.
ULI Chicago will help fund the development of case studies of two multifamily decarbonization retrofit pilot projects being funded by the city of Chicago. The case studies will document the work done to help encourage and guide future retrofit projects. The case studies are expected to include a summary of the design and construction choices, costs, pre- and post-retrofit energy consumption and carbon emissions, and tenant quality-of-life impacts. Slipstream will be responsible for data evaluation; ULI Chicago will collaborate with the city of Chicago and Illinois Green Alliance to craft the case study document based on Slipstream’s work.
ULI Germany / Austria / Switzerland
ULI Germany will build upon previous NZI technical assistance efforts to (1) develop a business case for financing retrofits in the affordable housing project by applying lessons from Buckower Höfe, (2) identify a taskforce of local stakeholders and ULI members to drive decarbonization efforts forward, and (3) produce a case study outlining the business case, potential financing mechanisms, and implementation roadmap for neighborhood-scale retrofits.
ULI Hong Kong
Continuing from previous NZI technical assistance efforts on landlord and tenant engagement, the NZI implementation grant will spark new discussions in Hong Kong on sustainable fit-outs—a topic that is not covered much in the city. ULI Hong Kong will leverage ULI’s multidisciplinary member base to unite various stakeholders (tenants, competing developers, technical consultants) to agree on best practices. The NZI grant will be used to create an event that will focus on the needs of different segments of tenants (e.g., office, food, and beverage), as each segment has different needs, as well as determining how fit-outs will vary according to segment, and what the benefits (both environmental and economic) of sustainable fit-outs will be.
ULI New York
Work will commence with New York City to put together a technical assistance event to identify Local Law 97–compliance pathways that can enable large multifamily affordable and middle-income building owners to reach net zero by 2050 by considering how funding and financing programs can be designed to meet those owners’ unique needs, technical solutions to upgrade existing building conditions and implement zero-carbon building systems, and legal mechanisms so that these investments are compliant with New York housing laws and rules.
The technical assistance efforts will explore and facilitate the adoption of grid-interactive efficient building (GEB) solutions in the Northwest region of the United States by fostering collaboration between commercial real estate stakeholders and local utilities to enhance energy decarbonization, resilience, and overall grid stability. The goal of this TAP will be to provide Northwest utilities and commercial real estate communities with actionable guidance on increased adoption of grid-interactive building solutions to reduce carbon emissions for the built environment and improve grid/community resilience for the region.
ULI Philadelphia
ULI Philadelphia will work with that city’s Division of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC) to convene a series of workshops. These gatherings will bring together regional and national peer experts in the affordable housing sector, housing development corporations, and private sector development professionals to discuss best practices and lessons learned in retrofitting existing affordable multifamily housing stock nearing the end of its subsidy term to preserve affordability and become carbon neutral. In partnership with DHCD, PHDC will host administrators from peer cities who have faced and overcome similar challenges in managing their portfolio of multihousing projects and how to structure local financing products that leverage IRA funds for multifamily decarbonization.
ULI Sacramento
Grand Gathering is a transformative development located in the Del Paso Heights neighborhood of Sacramento. This project will revitalize a struggling corridor through the development of a dynamic outdoor gathering space and a rehabilitated commercial building, designed to foster community engagement, education, and business incubation, and to lead by example through implementing net zero strategies. This project aims to study net zero strategies with a focus on environmental and restorative justice to build resilience for the surrounding community. As an emerging business hub and gathering space, incorporating natural cooling strategies and self-sufficient energy systems here will promote environmental justice by fostering autonomy for individuals and the community.
ULI Spain
Partnering with the city of Madrid and local real estate stakeholders, ULI Spain will study a determined and specific area of the city that could be used as a general pilot for implementing net zero strategy measures, to address specific net zero challenges. They include (1) developing a neighborhood-scale strategy for deep-energy retrofits, focusing on both residential and commercial buildings; (2) creating innovative financing mechanisms to support building owners in implementing decarbonization measures; (3) engaging with key stakeholders, including property owners, tenants, and local authorities, in a collaborative approach to neighborhood decarbonization; (4) identifying opportunities to unlock, maximize, and share environmental, social, and economic value across all stakeholders through integrated, place-based retrofit strategies; and (5) developing scalable solutions that can be applied to other neighborhoods and cities, addressing the challenges of asset stranding and ensuring a just transition.
ULI Washington
This project would partner with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to generate design guidelines, developer-facing incentives, and government-facing priorities for net zero buildings within WMATA’s Joint Development Program, using one specific site near the Fort Totten station as the model for implementation that could then be extrapolated and applied to future Joint Development sites during the RFP solicitation and developer selection process.
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