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Last week, the Real Estate Board of New York joined Mayor Bill de Blasio to launch the NYC Carbon Challenge for Commercial Owners and Tenants.

This landmark action represents our commitment to working with the City to build a more environmentally friendly New York and help reduce citywide greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

The mayor’s initial NYC Carbon Challenge has already made great strides, and the new Challenge for Commercial Owners and Tenants expands that effort to include 10 owners and 12 tenants across the city.

Each of these participants has now committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions at their own properties by at least 30 percent over the next 10 years.

I am especially proud to note that among the 10 commercial owners taking part in this challenge are prominent REBNY members and longstanding leaders in our city’s real estate community.

These participants include the Durst Organization, Forest City, Related Companies, Rockefeller Group, Rudin Management Company, Inc., RXR Realty, SL Green Realty Corp., Silverstein Properties Inc. and Vornado Realty Trust. Collectively, the owners have committed a total of 56 buildings within their portfolios to this important effort.

To understand the significance of this partnership, it is important to recognize that commercial buildings are currently responsible for around 30 percent of New York City’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Additionally, as the Mayor’s Office has noted, the interior energy used in leased office space accounts for around 40 to 60 percent of all the energy consumption in a typical commercial building.

Historically, lowering carbon emissions at commercial properties has been a difficult task because there have been few opportunities for owners and tenants to co-ordinate on comprehensive strategies for increasing energy efficiency while implementing cost-saving measures.

By officially joining the NYC Carbon Challenge, participating owners and tenants will be able to collaborate and gain the additional resources and support needed to find real solutions to these problems.

As with so many other issues, our push for positive change is stronger when like-minded groups work together to achieve a common goal.

In addition to the commercial owners participating in this effort, we would also like to recognize the tenants who have joined this campaign. Participating tenants include llen & Overy LLP, Barclays, Barnes & Noble, Citi, Pfizer, Inc., Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, UBS, Viacom and White & Case LLP.

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Tenants can affect real change by making the most of existing spaces. Smart retrofits could be as simple as installing energy-efficient lighting and upgrading to functional furniture solutions.

Sustainable buildings appeal to commercial tenants for reasons beyond a basic desire to help the environment. As they search for the next ideal office space to lease, entrepreneurs know to watch for verification through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED.

Employees who work in buildings with LEED status are healthier, more productive and more likely to remain longer with their companies. In tandem, business owners have signaled a willingness to spend more on eco-friendly spaces — and building owners are taking note. It’s anticipated that commercial-building owners will spend $960 billion globally by the year 2023 upgrading building infrastructure to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s rigorous LEED standards.

At present, more than 200,000 buildings worldwide are LEED certified. On its face, that isn’t a particularly impressive figure. Major metropolitan areas in the United States haven’t exactly raced the extra mile to embrace yet another set of codes and guidelines in an industry already rife with regulations. Indeed, part of the reason for the slow march to green is that the LEED program itself only represents one set of standards. Some building owners and developers prefer to focus on Energy Star, for example. Others simply don’t see strong enough demand to justify the investment. It takes time, money and other resources to retrofit older buildings or delay newer properties to ensure they’re up to the latest, greatest standards.

Tenants might not realize it, but they can help advance the ball. While property owners decide whether to pursue LEED certification, tenants can adopt meaningful degrees of sustainability in their own rights.

Build green habits.

Do your employees want to bike or jog to work for health or environmental reasons? Investigate the cost to install a bike rack. If that’s not an option, consider offering bus passes or bike-share memberships at a discount.

Enforcing steadfast recycling in the workplace is another easy win. Make it company policy to recycle plastic, paper and aluminum or other metals. If you see people abusing the policy, call out the behavior.

Draw up a green lease.

Request to insert green language into your leases. These provisions range from requiring the landlord to monitor and report back on energy efficiency to agreeing to purchase only sustainable building materials for common areas.

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By Tania Longeau

Companies all around the world are doing their part to go green. Some use energy-saving techniques, while others participate in recycling programs and use office supplies made of recycled materials. Many companies even allow telecommuting and remote work options to save on costs.

Some companies take this a step further and create entire office spaces that focus on beauty and energy savings. They are like paradises – except you are expected to do some work. Read on to learn more about companies that are taking eco-friendliness to a whole new level.

1. The technology giant is known for its eco-friendly workspaces and has inspired other companies to follow suit. Google uses sustainable materials in its buildings, as well as clean air and natural light. The company’s Mountain View campus in California received the City of Mountain View’s first-ever LEED Platinum certification. Google offers green commuting options for employees, as well as a variety of other cool perks.
2. The computer company’s campus in Cupertino, California is on track to create an environment that functions like its own city. Much of the asphalt has been turned into a green hideaway that helps promote creative thinking. The company is building its own energy plant and plans to shun cars and all forms of carbon emissions altogether.
3. The technology company has three LEED Platinum certified buildings in San Jose, California. These green buildings are highly efficient and feature bathrooms with automatic flush valves and waterless urinals. The buildings are also smart, allowing employees to monitor to control and monitor the lighting, thermostat, and more.
4. The social media company has created a sustainable space that is not only green but fun as well. No changes were made to the building itself, so staff went about making modifications to the indoors. The decorations are eco-friendly, and the furniture and paint are non-toxic. The logo and desks are made of reclaimed barn wood, and there is a concrete table made of recycled aggregates.
5. The apparel company’s European headquarters in the Netherlands offers many eco-friendly elements. The roof collects rainwater, which is used for toilets and gardens. This practice alone saves at least 4 million liters of rainwater annually. The basketball and tennis courts are made of recycled shoes – about 8,000 of them, to be exact.
6. Audubon Center. You can’t ignore the Audubon Center, which was the very first LEED Platinum building in the United States. The building functions off the electrical grid, thanks to solar energy. The space uses water conservation and locally used materials
7. Bank of America Tower. This New York skyscraper is not only super tall but also quite energy efficient. It produces net zero carbon dioxide emissions and was the first skyscraper to receive a LEED Platinum rating. The building is made of recycled materials. Floor to ceiling windows produce heat and natural light. Complete with low-flow fixtures and waterless urinals, the building also has an air filtration system that creates clean air for the city.
8. Banner Bank Building. Here’s another energy-efficient bank building. This Boise, Idaho mid-rise building is surrounded by seven acres of land to help it function efficiently. Storm water is collected and reused, while water conservation systems keep water use in check.
9. California Department of Education. This building has the distinction of being the first state office building to be LEED Platinum certified – as an existing building. The building was already green but has been enhanced to save much more energy. The building increases water efficiency and uses cool roofing to keep heat at decent levels. The employer encourages its employees to use alternative transportation.
10. Sun and the Moon Altar. This office building in China is the largest solar-powered building in the world, at 75,000 square meters. Modeled after a sundial, this office space has solar hot water and a special insulation system that results in 30% less energy consumption.
11. A worldwide sustainability cooperative based in Amsterdam, Except created something truly unique by turning an abandoned shipyard into what is known as the “Crystal Forest.” This energy-neutral office is filled with hydroponic modules that use chlorine-free rainwater to produce food indoors.

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When it comes to big decisions like opening up a new location, it often helps to sweat the small stuff. Here’s a quick list of questions I ended up having to ask myself when my company made the move from New York to St. Louis.

What do Google, Facebook and Apple have in common? They’re all Silicon Valley giants, innovators who transformed the tech space forever — and they all picked terrible headquarters for their business. Each of these companies is located more than three miles away from the nearest regional rail station, and that’s a problem that may hurt their bottom lines sooner rather than later.

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The U.S. property market landscape in 2017 will be characterized by continued strong fundamentals, increased investor flows and high transaction volume. As for the economic landscape, the U.S. continues to grow moderately and add jobs. The U.S. employment gains continue to be strong, with unemployment dropping below 5.0 percent earlier this year, and adding to demand for housing in a variety of forms, for office space, for the retail sector and for industrial/distribution facilities. While many fear the end of the current economic cycle, the fact that the recovery was so protracted leads me to believe that we may have another two years left in the current growth cycle.

The U.S. Federal Reserve made it clear last December that the central bank sees U.S. growth as relatively stable, notching the federal funds rate higher by a quarter point. Nevertheless, underlying inflation is extremely tame in the U.S. and in major emerging markets (with worries of deflation in some sectors and countries), providing no impetus for significantly higher rates. Lending rates and fixed-income rates of return will still be very low by historical standards, inducing continued levered purchases of real estate assets.

The following five trends will play a significant role in commercial real estate in 2017.

1. Global economic and political uncertainties. The Brexit vote in the U.K. has added new uncertainties that will not be fully understood, much less resolved, in the near term. The IMF has downgraded global growth twice since January as uncertainties blur the outlook. For U.S. markets—real estate in particular—the impact is likely to be largely positive as U.S. assets become more attractive and valuable to global investors. We can probably expect enhanced inbound foreign investment in U.S. real estate as the U.S. becomes even more of a safe haven. The IMF predicts higher economic growth in the world as emerging markets find their footing and commodities continue their recovery. Stronger global growth is likely to provide more real estate inflows into the U.S. market as the U.S. remains one of the most attractive commercial real estate markets.

2. Low interest and cap rate environment. While it seems fairly certain that the Fed will seek another rate hike before the year is out, it should be minor. The funds rate could be boosted by perhaps 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent in 2016 and the same in 2017, but both inflation and employment appear to be coming in under the Fed’s expectations. With global economic growth lower than expected earlier in the year, the Fed will more likely maintain a ‘wait-and-see’ position in the short term. We still believe that the Fed is more than likely to weigh the effects of each move it makes before adding any additional friction to current (if unspectacular) economic growth trends. Ten-year Treasury yields have been in flux as early concerns about the effects of Brexit have begun to smooth out. Yields, which had fallen to as low as 1.24 percent in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, have risen back to more than 1.5 percent in recent weeks. As concerns about global economic developments ease, we should expect those yields to push back toward a more normalized 1.75 percent to 2.0 percent range by early 2017. The squeeze on cap-rate spreads remains of some concern for real estate investments should rates rise more rapidly than expected, especially with the “frothiness” we have seen in certain gateway, class-A markets. At present, little indication exists that a rate increase will push cap rates dramatically higher. Nonetheless, there are indications that yields may begin to drift upward. And, as pricing in first tier markets stalls and yields hover in the sub–4 percent range in some of the major gateway markets—which are, in some cases, already in peak pricing territory—we should probably expect investors to move more aggressively into secondary and tertiary markets—and to opportunities beyond core assets to core-plus and value-add properties, as well as some of the higher-yielding niche property sectors, such as medical real estate.

3. Foreign investment in the United States. Global economic and political uncertainty continues to drive capital to the United States. International capital flows into U.S. real estate assets will continue—and increase. The U.S. property market is the most stable and transparent in the world, with higher relative yields and price appreciation potential, making it an easy investment choice. And, while slowing growth in China and much of Europe may dampen currencies and incomes over there, there is still abundant non-U.S. capital looking for placement and very strong demand for U.S. assets, as 2015 proved with record inflows. In 2015, foreign purchases of U.S. real estate assets rose to more than $87 billion over the 12 months ending in December, according to the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE), with China, Canada, Norway and Singapore all riding the wave. That volume is up from just $4.7 billion in 2009, according to research firm Real Capital Analytics. Among members of AFIRE, a substantial percentage expect to increase investment in the U.S. in 2017. Changes in the 1980 Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA), which now allow foreign investors to be treated in a fashion similar to their U.S counterparts, will likely lead to an increase in foreign investment in the U.S. real estate market as well.