CBRE Group announced today five recipient institutions in its Real Green Research Challenge (RGRC). Launched in September 2012, the RGRC is CBRE’s $1 million commitment to fund leading-edge sustainability research and innovation in commercial real estate.
CBRE has awarded RGRC funding and organizational support to sustainability projects developed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Stanford University, EURO Institute of Real Estate Management, Cleveland State University and Central Michigan University, and Maastricht University.
“Growing market awareness of commercial buildings’ environmental impact is inspiring innovation in sustainability research,” said Bob Sulentic, CBRE’s President and CEO. “The Real Green Research Challenge advances this research by providing financial resources as well as access to CBRE’s market-leading global market data and technical expertise to help address some of the most challenging sustainability issues facing commercial real estate owners, investors and occupiers.”
After an evaluation of more than 100 submissions by an independent judging panel, CBRE has chosen five projects to receive RGRC financial awards:
- a rating system for comparative tenant energy use that provides a quantitative foundation for identifying and promoting energy efficient practices (Natural Resources Defense Council’s Center for Market Innovation);
- a detailed empirical evaluation of EPA ENERGY STAR® energy management strategies allowing facilities and property managers to prioritize energy efficiency projects (Stanford University, Center for Integrated Facility Engineering);
- a comprehensive economic analysis of the value implications of green building practices on large institutional real estate portfolios (EURO Institute of Real Estate Management);
- a new industry-wide, regionally sensitive, green building scoring protocol system to inform U.S. office tenants’ leasing decisions and developers’ sustainable building choices (Cleveland State University and Central Michigan University); and
- a quarterly green building index of the top 30 U.S. metro markets, yielding insights for policy makers, developers and other stakeholders and supporting lenders’ risk management analysis and investors' decisions (Maastricht University).
“The projects supported through the Real Green Research Challenge will add significant knowledge to some of the key sustainability issues in commercial real estate, such as the relative value of sustainable buildings, the most effective energy efficiency initiatives and the location of green building market growth,” said Dave Pogue, CBRE’s Global Director of Corporate Responsibility. “These and other issues are the focus of the projects CBRE is funding, and the answers could have a profound effect on how buildings are leased, occupied and improved in the future.“
CBRE’s Environmental Sustainability program includes global commitments in 11 key areas of environmentally sound performance, including resource management, occupancy, communications and training, public policy and procurement. The program provides best practices and initiatives that strengthen CBRE’s own environmental commitment, reflect the best environmental practices in our clients’ properties, and provide vital training and education to CBRE professionals.
For more information about the RGRC, please visit www.cbre.com/rgrc.
About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2012 revenue). The Company has approximately 37,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
Related Stories
| Apr 14, 2011
USGBC debuts LEED for Healthcare
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) introduces its latest green building rating system, LEED for Healthcare. The rating system guides the design and construction of both new buildings and major renovations of existing buildings, and can be applied to inpatient, outpatient and licensed long-term care facilities, medical offices, assisted living facilities and medical education and research centers.
| Apr 13, 2011
National Roofing Contractors Association revises R-value of polyisocyanurate (ISO) insulation
NRCA has updated their R-value recommendation for polyisocyanurate roof insulation with the publication of the 2011 The NRCA Roofing Manual: Membrane Roof Systems.
| Apr 13, 2011
Professor Edward Glaeser, PhD, on how cities are mankind’s greatest invention
Edward Glaeser, PhD, the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard University and director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, as well as the author of Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Healthier, and Happier, on how cities are mankind’s greatest invention.
| Apr 13, 2011
Southern Illinois park pavilion earns LEED Platinum
Erin’s Pavilion, a welcome and visitors center at the 80-acre Edwin Watts Southwind Park in Springfield, Ill., earned LEED Platinum. The new 16,000-sf facility, a joint project between local firm Walton and Associates Architects and the sustainability consulting firm Vertegy, based in St. Louis, serves as a community center and special needs education center, and is named for Erin Elzea, who struggled with disabilities during her life.
| Apr 13, 2011
Virginia hospital’s prescription for green construction: LEED Gold
Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, Va., is the commonwealth’s first inpatient healthcare facility to earn LEED Gold. The 630,000-sf facility was designed by Earl Swensson Associates, with commissioning consultant SSRCx, both of Nashville.
| Apr 13, 2011
Office interaction was the critical element to Boston buildout
Margulies Perruzzi Architects, Boston, designed the new 11,460-sf offices for consultant Interaction Associates and its nonprofit sister organization, The Interaction Institute for Social Change, inside an old warehouse near Boston’s Seaport Center.
| Apr 13, 2011
Expanded Museum of the Moving Image provides a treat for the eyes
The expansion and renovation of the Museum of the Moving Image in the Astoria section of Queens, N.Y., involved a complete redesign of its first floor and the construction of a three-story 47,000-sf addition.
| Apr 13, 2011
Duke University parking garage driven to LEED certification
People parking their cars inside the new Research Drive garage at Duke University are making history—they’re utilizing the country’s first freestanding LEED-certified parking structure.
| Apr 13, 2011
Red Bull Canada HQ a mix of fluid spaces and high-energy design
The Toronto architecture firm Johnson Chou likes to put a twist on its pared-down interiors, and its work on the headquarters for Red Bull Canada is no exception. The energy drink maker occupies 12,300 sf on the top two floors of a three-story industrial building in Toronto, and the design strategy for its space called for leaving the base building virtually untouched while attention was turned to the interior architecture.
| Apr 13, 2011
Former department store gets new lease on life as MaineHealth HQ
The long-vacant Sears Roebuck building in Portland, Maine, was redeveloped into the corporate headquarters for MaineHealth. Consigli Construction and local firm Harriman Architects + Engineers handled the 14-month fast-track project, transforming the 89,000-sf, four-story facility for just $100/sf.
