Given the pressing challenges facing real estate globally on advancing building decarbonization, ULI is honored to announce the eight District and National Councils selected to participate in the fifth Net Zero Imperative (NZI) Cohort, joining nearly 30 global communities that have engaged with the program to date. 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. Congratulations to the selected participants of NZI Cohort Five:
Thanks to a generous donation from Owen Thomas and additional gifts from Lynn Thurber, Joe Azrack, Franz Colloredo-Mansfeld, and Dan Cashdan, NZI began in the summer of 2021 as a five-year cohort program that sponsors local ULI technical assistance panels (TAPs) to help the public and private sectors co-develop a path forward to decarbonize the built environment. Each year the Lewis Center recruits ULI District Councils and National Councils (Europe and Asia Pacific) to be part of an NZI cohort, granting both funding and HQ support for either a net-zero-focused TAP or a post-TAP implementation effort based on the original TAP’s priority recommendations. In addition to the technical assistance efforts, NZI participants also collaborate in a global cohort that shares best practices and problem-solves together.
2025 marks the fifth cohort of the Net Zero Imperative program and will certainly prove to be one of the most impactful years yet. With projects ranging from decarbonizing small commercial buildings and neighborhoods to producing a global mass timber development guide to supporting collaboration between developers and utilities on more grid-interactive buildings, this cohort runs the gamut of the Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate’s vast range of decarbonization strategies and opportunities. We can’t wait to report to work with the various cities and teams across the globe.
Learn more below about the focus of the NZI Cohort Five participants and the actionable steps that have been laid out for local real estate owners, public sector leaders, and broader stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment to reach net zero:
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANT ULI Louisiana + Broad Community Connections + City of New Orleans Develop a scalable, district-level road map to decarbonize small commercial buildings and businesses without displacing tenants or burdening owners with prohibitive costs. | |
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANT ULI Northwest (Seattle) + U.S. Forest Service + Softwood Lumber Board Develop data-driven guidance and research on mass timber across financial, regulatory, and carbon performance for real estate development | |
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANT ULI Europe-United Kingdom (Bristol) + C Change for Housing Accelerate neighborhood-scale decarbonization, focusing on housing retrofit delivery, resident engagement, and investment alignment. | |
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANT ULI Virginia + City of Richmond Advance Richmond’s Sustainable Design Standards to meet its net-zero goals by addressing the gap between policy adoption and practical implementation. | |
IMPLEMENTATION GRANT ULI Australia (Melbourne) Address retrofit challenges in non-class-A commercial buildings to align with Melbourne’s net-zero precinct goals. | |
IMPLEMENTATION GRANT ULI China Mainland (Shanghai) + AECOM Spark industry-wide action in China to identify embodied carbon best practices, standardize quantification methods, and inform smart and balanced design decisions. | |
IMPLEMENTATION GRANT ULI Nashville + Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County + ThinkTennessee Develop two detailed case studies to inform local policy and inspire affordable housing developers to build to net-zero standards. | |
IMPLEMENTATION GRANT ULI Northwest (Portland) + Energy Trust of Oregon + Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Enable greater adoption of efficient, grid-interactive buildings through learning and connection sessions across the commercial real estate and utility industries. |
The ULI Net Zero Imperative (NZI) is ULI’s multiyear initiative to accelerate decarbonization in the built environment and advance the organization’s net zero mission priority. Implemented by the ULI Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate in collaboration with ULI District and National Councils and local partners, key activities include Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs), which are intense three-day engagements during which a panel of ULI member experts and partners help clients or sponsors, often local governments, think through strategies for advancing their net-zero goals and priorities.
NZI provides grant funding and forms a cohort of cities each year to tackle net zero and building decarbonization challenges in their communities through technical assistance and implementation efforts (e.g. workshops, convenings, case studies, graphic diagrams, etc.). This global cohort meets virtually every month and convenes in-person at ULI Spring and Fall Meetings to learn best practices and avoid potential pitfalls. Insights across the cohorts are distilled and shared via articles, reports, and videos.
