Real Estate Considerations To Support Clean Energy

Today’s real estate ventures are judged not only by the quality and design of the property but also by their commitment to clean energy. This is where Renewable Energy in Real Estate comes into play. 

To be honest, it is not enough to build something beautiful. Modern real estate developers must also create properties that, at the very least, have a neutral impact on the world around them. Ideally, they’ll create spaces that allow nature and humans to thrive equally. 

In this article, we’ll explore Renewable Energy in Real Estate. We will take a look at the integration of circular economy principles, community-centric development, and long-term environmental impact assessments in real estate ventures.

Circular economy

One of the biggest issues in society today across a broad range of sectors is waste. An increasing number of consumers pay attention to how much waste they generate, including the establishments they visit and where they live. 

Integrating the circular economy into real estate ventures is a good way to prioritize green development and create spaces that everyone can enjoy.

The “circular economy” might not be a familiar term, but the good news is that it’s easy to understand. 

It is a system where materials are reused indefinitely. They never become waste, and any nature impacted by the construction or use of the property is continuously regenerated.

In Renewable Energy in Real Estate, three principles drive the circular economy: 

1. Eliminate waste and pollution
2. Regenerate nature
3. Circulate materials and products (at their highest value)

Processes like maintenance, refurbishment, reuse, remanufacture, composting, and recycling keep products and materials in steady circulation. 

Moreover, eliminating waste and reusing assets, in turn, has a positive impact on global challenges like waste, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

The circular economy is both driven and drives the transition to renewable materials and energies, making it a particularly resilient system beneficial to the environment, people, and businesses alike. As a result, you can have a successful Renewable Energy in Real Estate. 

Community-centric development

Also known as “community-driven development” (CDD), community-centric development is a development initiative that gives the community direct control of the resources, development process, and decision-making authority. 

The idea is that the communities within which a property will exist are best situated to drive beneficial construction. 

Moreover, when provided with the information and resources needed to do so, these people can best decide how their livelihoods and lives can be impacted for the better and address immediate communal needs.

Furthermore, the best professionals take community-based development seriously. After all, their goals are to strengthen the community, and working directly with people living and working in the area helps create more effective projects. 

Rofino Licuco has a portfolio filled with all manner of projects, providing a blueprint to other real estate professionals to help guide their project management choices, especially with CDD projects.

There are five main characteristics of CDD projects:

1. The project targets a representative local council or community-based organization
2. Secondly, the targeted community is responsible for planning and designing subprojects
3. Thirdly, the targeted community has control of the transfer of resources
4. Fourthly, the targeted community plays an active role in the implementation of the subproject
5. Lastly, the targeted community uses community-based evaluation and monitoring through the building process

CDD works by offering underserved communities with limited resources direct funding for development. 

In return, the community plans and builds the development. It also assumes responsibility for following its progress. 

Moreover, treating people with limited funds as partners and assets helps build inclusive properties, cost-effective, and responsive to local needs, especially when compared with centrally led NGO programs.

Long-term environmental impact assessment

We discussed this briefly above, but today’s consumers are increasingly interested in projects that benefit nature — or, at the very least, those that don’t actively damage it. 

How can modern real estate professionals accurately gauge how their projects affect the world around them? Impact assessments are a top priority for conscientious developers as well as the real estate workers who help market their developments.

Real estate professionals use long-term environmental impact assessments to help gauge how their projects might affect the world around them. 

Known as Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), these assessments are designed to walk the line between nature and development. 

They weigh a wide variety of factors to determine how the built environment affects local ecosystems. Ideally, these assessments are thorough enough to offer professionals some insight into how their projects might affect the land around them decades into the future.

The EIA process is deceptively simple to describe. First, you analyze the initial state of the environment. This includes potential effects on nature and human health, making sure to take other known projects into account. 

By determining vital assets in the area like fauna and flora, water resources and air quality, EIAs ultimately serve as a blueprint for sustainability. 

They usually outline measures to help compensate for, reduce, or completely avoid potential adverse environmental effects.

Renewable Energy in Real Estate: Green Building Certifications

Another great way of demonstrating Renewable Energy in Real Estate is that you care about clean energy is to obtain a green building certification. 

These certifications are essentially an endorsement that states the building adheres to some sustainability standards.

Some of the most well-known certifications are:

• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
• BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method)
• WELL Building Standard (which is human health and well-being-centered)
• Living Building Challenge (extremely rigorous, net-zero energy and waste)

They focus on energy consumption, water conservation, indoor air quality, sustainable material usage, and other related issues. 

They are stringent but an extremely good method of building a competitive advantage in the marketplace and drawing environmentally conscious consumers and tenants.

In most cases, certified buildings also become eligible for tax incentives, government incentives, or increased property value. That’s a win-win for the environment and your wallet.

Smart Energy Management Systems

Lastly, there are smart energy systems. These use technology to help monitor and optimize energy use in real time. 

Take smart thermostats, energy-efficient lighting, motion sensors, solar tracking systems — name them.

Smart systems can:

• Cut back on waste to save money
• Make living or working in buildings more enjoyable.
• Help monitor how energy use changes over time.
• Auto shift is used for off-peak times
• Help to connect with solar panels or energy storage.

Better still, most intelligent Renewable Energy in Real Estate solutions can be retrofitted to existing buildings. This implies that one must not start from scratch to benefit from clean energy technology.

Renewable Energy in Real Estate: Final Thoughts! 

Clean energy and sustainability are not trends — they are the new norm for Renewable Energy in Real Estate.

As a developer, investor, or homeowner, you must consider how your property will affect the community and the environment in the long run.

With the implementation of circular economy principles, collaborative work with communities, environmental impact monitoring, green building certification, and fitting smart energy infrastructure, real estate professionals can develop greener, better, and future-proof structures. 

Would you like to see more on how real estate and taking care of the environment are connected? Watch for more information, useful guides, and examples to come.