The Ground Floor

Kennedy Associates 2009 Responsible Property Investment Report

Kennedy Associates, one of the leaders in Responsible Property Investing, recently published its 2009  RPI Report which is available on its web site (www.kennedyusa.com). The report provides a snapshot of select Kennedy Associates RPI activities and the firm's on-going work within the industry to promote RPI. 

How Green a Green a Recession? Sustainability Prospects in the U.S. Real Estate Industry

RREEF Alternative Investments has provided us with a direct link to their research web site so that readersmay obtain copies of "How Green a Green a Recession? - Sustainability Prospects in the U.S. Real Estate Industry" directly.

"How Green A Recession? Sustainability Prospects in the US Real Estate Industry"

Andrew Nelson of RREEF has just published an excellent paper reviewing the green
property market, entitled "How Green A Recession? Sustainability Prospects in the
US Real Estate Industry."

Hermes 2008 Responsible Property Investment Annual Report Published

This post was written for The Ground Floor by Stephen Blank,senior resident fellow for real estate finance at ULI.

Hermes Real Estate Investment Management recently published its 2008 Responsible Property Investment Annual Report, which is entitled Who’s Responsible?
 
In the report, Hermes notes that more than at any time in the past and particularly given the growing regulatory interest in the area, sustainability will have an increasing impact on property sector investment returns. The questions are how, when and by how much? In response to these questions, Hermes has developed a "holistic" approach to Responsible Property Investment (RPI), with all of its investment activities geared to proactively contribute.

Responsible Property Investing Reports

Here are two new reports related to Responsible Property Investing (RPI) you should know about: RREEF Research Report Globalization and Global Trends in Green Real Estate Investment and The Noisette Company Sustainability Report.

"Green Leases Gain Popularity in United Kingdom"

The following appeared in the M3 Capital Partners Second Quarter 2008 European Market Overview:

"Environmental thinking continued to infiltrate the U.K. property market in second quarter with the introduction of the first 'green' leases for U.K. commercial property. In April, Hermes added seven green clauses covering energy efficiency and co-operation with the landlord's environmental policies to the standard lease for all new tenants in its 20 million square foot portfolio.

In June, Land Securities launched a green lease at its Elements shopping centre in Livingston, Scotland, with almost all tenants signing on. It is expected that these green principles will eventually be incorporated into Land Securities' office leases.

British Land introduced a slightly different approach by developing a three-year sustain­ability Memorandum of Understanding, which will be used at its 201 Bishops­gate and Broadgate Tower office developments.

Green leases provide a legal framework for reducing a building's carbon foot­print, and the adoption of these types of leases marks a significant devel­opment in the U.K. property market's application of sustainability principles. Whilst it is anticipated that green leases may become increasingly common as the environmental agenda becomes more mainstream, the question remains as to whether this trend can be sustained as a viable basis for investment, especially in a more challenging property market."

RPI Council Approved

We are pleased to announce that the formation of a ULI Council focused on Responsible Property Investment has been approved by ULI's Trustees; now the fun begins.

If you are still interested in participating in the work of the RPI Council, we would appreciate your sending one last e-mail with full contact information to blank@uli.org; we'll take it from there.

New "Responsible Property Investment Quarterly" Available

The most recent issue of the "Responsible Property Investment Quarterly" is available.

It includes an overview of our 3rd Annual Responsible Property Investment Forum, an outline of
research-backed RPI investment strategies, case studies of RPI in practice, and notes of a few recent publications of interest.

Special Report: The Applicability of the CoStar Green Studies

As  previously announced, ULI is a member of the Green Building Finance Consortium (GBFC). In the following special report, the GBFC assessing the applicability of the recent and widely quoted CoStar Studies of Green economics. Please follow the links below to the PDF or HTML versions of the Special report as well as a link to the GBFC report. PDF | HTML

UNEP Finance Initiative

The UNEP Finance Initiative has issued its new report, which urges real estate investors to adopt the principles for Responsible Investing into their decision making.