Real Estate Developers – How Can You Contribute to the Environment?

Climate change threatens all human beings and industries, including real estate. The extreme heatwaves are causing electricity bills to spike, and rising sea levels sweep away the stunning beach houses. While these physical risks are quite well known, many real estate developers don’t realize how they contribute to climate change and carbon emissions.

The real estate sector produces approximately 50% of global CO₂ emissions, most of which is from building operations and materials. Real estate developers and home building companies must work on reducing resource consumption and CO₂ emissions to reach the global and national climate goals. Here are a few ways to do that:

Leveraging Advanced Technology

Combining real estate technology with smart and green urban designs can alleviate global environmental challenges.

Analyze active energy consumption by incorporating advanced software in design and development processes and optimize passive energy sources for ventilation and lighting designs. Developing green buildings with self-sustainable energy sources, solar roofs, heat recovery systems, and HVAC technologies can decrease energy consumption.

Moreover, you can also use building management software to perform digital inspections. Such software offers crucial data and real-time analytics that can help in preventive maintenance and energy management of properties.

Eco-Friendly Construction Materials and Processes

Many building materials cause significant harm to the environment; common materials like steel, aluminum, and concrete alone are responsible for 23% of global emissions. Moreover, plastic and steel extractions have the biggest and most long-lasting toxic effects. Replacing these materials with environmentally friendly materials such as polyurethane foam, bamboo, pre-cast concrete, etc., can decrease emissions and wastage.

Using recycled materials is also a good way to relieve the environment. Adding certain design elements like insulated air conditioning, windows, walls, and ceilings also lead to less energy consumption in the buildings.

Eco-friendly construction methods also focus on saving water, another crucial yet scarce natural resource. Rainwater harvesting, water pressure reduction, low-flow plumbing fixtures, etc., are common examples of reducing water consumption and wastage during construction projects.

Digital Commercial Activities

Due to the pandemic, many real estate commercial activities were digitized, and properties are now sold, rented, and bought through online channels. The digital property listing websites enhance the buying experience, offer ease and convenience to buyers and sellers, and provide huge relief to the environment. Shifting from traditional real estate offices to digital mediums is decreasing the electricity consumption and eliminating the need for transportation to different properties; this leads to reduced carbon footprint and resource preservation.

Innovation in Design and Development

It’s time to shift from human-centered design to environment-centered design for sustainable real estate development. The demand for real estate will keep growing, so it’s best to innovate green home designs to reduce the industry’s negative impact on the environment.

Focus on ecologically sound solutions to reduce waste and resource consumption in construction and demolition. Green homes backed by smart technology offer many benefits for everyone, including building companies, buyers, and most importantly, the environment.

Green Home Builders is the pioneer in creating sustainable designs and building green homes in the US and other parts of the world. Our green builders ensure minimum resource consumption, high-quality results, and compliance with the ISO 50001 standards. If you have more questions for us, feel free to contact us now.