Stop Begging, Start Blocking: A New Strategy for Real Estate Sustainability
A Message to Sustainability Professionals
An August Berres Editorial
By Robert Kroon
For too long, sustainability professionals in commercial real estate have been playing a losing game. You craft elaborate proposals for green initiatives, only to see them languish in budget meetings, victims of cost-cutting and short-sighted thinking.
It’s time for a change.
You must shift focus from pleading for funding to actively opposing projects that fail to meet basic sustainability standards. This is not about being obstructionist; it’s about recognizing the urgency of the climate crisis, advocating for high-value priorities, and wielding the influence you have to prevent further environmental damage.
In the current economic climate, securing funding for ambitious sustainability projects is an uphill battle. However, you wield significant power in influencing project approvals. You can leverage this power to establish a baseline for acceptable development: projects that do not prioritize resilience and save energy should simply not proceed.
August Berres’ Agile Furniture products are mobile and battery-powered. Batteries can be charged using a DC output Fault-managed power receiver. This avoids wasteful AC conversions. For legacy equipment that uses AC connections, August Berres’ desks have point-of-use AC receptacles incorporated into the design. In the future, the need for this will decline as devices move towards USB-C power connections.
Three key areas must become non-negotiable in every new commercial development:
On-site Power Generation: Relying solely on the traditional grid is no longer acceptable. Buildings must generate significant power through renewable sources like solar panels, wind turbines, or geothermal systems. This reduces reliance on fossil fuels and enhances resilience in the face of grid outages, a growing concern in a world increasingly impacted by extreme weather events.
Fault-Managed Power: When connected to a battery energy storage system, this technology ensures safe power supply even during internal faults. It’s a crucial component of building resilience, minimizing downtime for businesses, and ensuring the safety of occupants.
Battery-Powered Agile Furniture: The concept of flexible, adaptable workspaces is here to stay. However, traditional furniture and power systems are ill-equipped to sustainably support this trend. Battery-powered agile furniture allows for seamless reconfiguration of workspaces without extensive rewiring, reducing material waste and energy consumption. Moreover, it allows for localized power storage, further enhancing building resilience.
These three elements represent a fundamental shift towards a more sustainable and resilient built environment. They are not merely “nice-to-haves” but essential building blocks for a future where buildings contribute to a healthy planet rather than detract from it.
Do these elements add to costs? It might surprise some of your colleagues … but NO, they save costs. They are the most significant sustainability solutions your company can adopt. Promoting them aligns your efforts with those who value cost savings.
The built environment has 2x the carbon footprint of the automobile industry. Combining these three elements typically saves 30% of your energy costs. Are there any better solutions you could advocate?
By focusing your efforts on opposing projects lacking these critical features, you can achieve far more than endlessly proposing initiatives destined to be rejected. You must become the gatekeepers of sustainable development, ensuring that every new building contributes to a greener future.
This requires a shift in mindset. You must move beyond the role of supplicants and embrace the role of advocates. You must be prepared to challenge conventional thinking, to question outdated practices, and to stand firm in your commitment to sustainability.
This is not an easy path. You will face resistance from developers, investors, and even some within your own industry. But the stakes are too high to remain silent. The future of our planet depends on our ability to act decisively and to demand a higher standard for commercial development.
Stop begging for scraps and start building a sustainable future, one project at a time. Make it clear that buildings without on-site power generation, fault-managed power, and battery-powered agile furniture are simply unacceptable. Use your influence to block the unsustainable and pave the way for a truly green built environment
