The ULI Net Zero Imperative (NZI) is a global program that began in 2021 to leverage ULI’s district and national councils (i.e., local chapters) and expert members to advance decarbonization locally and is a significant aspect of ULI’s work to advance its net zero mission priority. Through grant-funded technical assistance panels (TAPs) and implementation efforts, NZI brings together public and private-sector professionals in the built environment to tackle net zero challenges, such as advancing affordable housing through green financing opportunities or creating new incentives for low-carbon districts.
NZI leverages ULI’s core strengths and activities, including:
- Local action through identifying challenges, convening stakeholders, executing technical assistance, and encouraging implementation
- Connecting and convening for network building, learning, and sharing among participants
- Distilling insights for ULI member-wide sharing and best-practice identification
NZI’s Impact in Global Communities
The recent release of the research report “ULI Net Zero Imperative: Three Years of Building Decarbonization” marks the fourth year and cohort of NZI in 2024, having engaged nearly 30 ULI district and national councils globally and bringing together public- and private-sector stakeholders to advance efforts to decarbonize buildings.
Detailed in the report and summarized below, the NZI program has shown that change is possible—small changes immediately and big changes over time. Successes and challenges are integrated throughout the report and spotlight both impact stories and useful or unique recommendations that surfaced throughout these three years of NZI efforts to date.
Through NZI, global communities have been connected on a shared goal to create lower carbon communities through cost-effective decarbonization solutions. Hearing best practices and potential pitfalls from peer cities is key to help avoid starting from scratch. While localized solutions are necessary to cater to the nuance of communities, there are common threads that can be woven between the tapestry of cities tackling the climate crisis.
5 Key Recommendations across nearly 30 NZI Communities
NZI meets communities and the real estate industry where they are on the journey to net zero. The program’s inherent flexibility is apparent in the scope of topics that have been covered to date, from energy efficiency to electric kitchens to green finance to embodied carbon accounting and beyond.
What we’ve learned from these nearly 30 technical assistance and implementation efforts is becoming clear: cities and the real estate industry need to align to make meaningful progress towards building decarbonization. Five key recommendations have emerged throughout NZI’s applied research to accelerate building decarbonization:
1. Integrate Renewable Energy and Building Electrification
a. Efforts to decarbonize must link building electrification efforts with larger-scale renewable energy investments alongside capital budgets planning.
2. Increase Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration
a. Public- and private-sector partners must engage and collaborate with a broad cross-section of community stakeholders. Bringing the community along the journey to net zero helps build champions, coalitions of action, and long-term buy-in.
3. Identify Financial Incentives and Support
a. Financial mechanisms such as rebates, financing, and incentives are essential tools to accelerate adoption, reduce potential “early-adopter” anxieties and cost premiums, and help stand up new markets for net zero technologies, services, and solutions.
4. Conduct Educational and Awareness Programs and Campaigns
a. Raising awareness and providing education on net zero benefits and practices are crucial to inform communities and increase adoption of sustainable practices.
5. Adopt Supportive Policy and Regulatory Frameworks
a. Streamlining regulations and implementing supportive policies are both necessary to facilitate easier transitions to net zero solutions and lower barriers to entry.
In the Rearview and on the Horizon
The fundamental goal of NZI is to provide concrete, actionable strategies to local stakeholders and the general public to accelerate the decarbonization of our buildings and cities and make meaningful progress toward net zero. As 2030 and 2050 net zero deadlines approach, it’s important to take stock of our successes, learn from our common challenges, and forecast where further exploration and collaboration are needed. While NZI has engaged with nearly 30 global cities to date, there is opportunity to partner with additional communities on the journey to net zero, with topics like the complex intersection of affordable housing, decarbonization, and green finance.
While NZI has passed the midpoint of its originally envisioned program length, ULI sees tremendous potential in expanding upon net zero technical assistance and implementation activities to be able to scale, amplify, and shepherd the impact NZI has seeded to date. ULI celebrates our successes and incremental impacts on the extended timelines of decarbonization, but there is work yet to be done. Join us in amplifying the scale of change we can cocreate today.
Join the Growing ULI NZI Collaborative
Interested in getting involved with NZI? Connect with your local ULI district or national council and visit ULI.org/NZI to learn more. Applications for Cohort 5 of NZI will be open from May 1 through July 31, 2025, send an email to [email protected] to setup an intro call or to ask any questions. Act today by applying to be an expert panelist and help scale NZI by donating at uli.org/donate/NZI.
Related Resources
- https://americas.uli.org/research/centers-initiatives/uli-randall-lewis-center-for-sustainability-in-real-estate/uligreenprint/city-engagement/ulis-net-zero-imperative/
- https://knowledge.uli.org/reports/research-reports/2025/uli-net-zero-imperative-three-years-of-accelerating-building-decarbonization
- https://knowledge.uli.org/reports/tap/2025/opportunities-challenges-of-retrofits
- https://knowledge.uli.org/reports/tap/2024/climate-ready-chicago-strategies-for-accelerating-building-decarbonization
- https://knowledge.uli.org/en/reports/research-reports/2025/green-finance-unlocked
- https://knowledge.uli.org/en/videos/2023/uli-net-zero-imperative-induction-cooktop-demonstration
- https://knowledge.uli.org/en/videos/2023/uli-net-zero-imperative-accelerating-real-estates-journey-to-zero
