Can the sustainability tech boom help decarbonize real estate?

With carbon reduction deadlines looming and regulations tightening, more businesses are adopting fast-evolving technologies to measure, monitor and manage their emissions and guide future sustainability decisions.

Sustainability technologies will account for the biggest share of increased tech budgets for both occupiers and investors over the next three years, according to JLL’s survey of 1,000 companies. Over two thirds of occupiers say tech that helps them to manage and report on their sustainability progress is a top budget priority. 

Globally, 45% of occupiers and 62% of investors surveyed plan to adopt energy or emissions management tech in the coming year. Another 62% of investors are interested in tech that supports sustainability monitoring and reporting while evaluating climate risk in portfolio planning is an emerging area.

“Tech is a critical enabler for companies to better understand how they’re doing in terms of their net zero goals through from flagging risks in their portfolio to monitoring their day-to-day operations,” says Ramya Ravichandar, Vice President, Technology Platforms - Smart & Sustainable Buildings at JLL.

“There’s now a mature market to address companies’ sustainability reporting and management needs and ensure they can comply with incoming public disclosure regulations such as California’s new Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act.”

Right now, AI is in its infancy in real estate, but as it continues to evolve, it will play an increasingly pivotal role in tackling the sizeable carbon footprint of real estate. Generative AI could catalyze the integration of sustainability technologies into both buildings and operational workflows, for example, by making these technologies more accessible through user-friendly interfaces that help people understand and engage with data insights.

This could accelerate the critical smart building transformation that underpins more sustainable real estate.

“In recent years, building owners have been experimenting with sensors, digital infrastructure and other smart tech. AI capabilities could bring about the tipping point by making it easier and more efficient to tap the benefits of these technologies,” says Wang.

This, in turn, would have big implications for the speed and scope of real estate’s decarbonization.

“Technology is, quite simply, core to real estate’s decarbonization,” says Ravichandar. “Today’s technology is already making a difference but as it develops and becomes integral to how buildings function, it will lower real estate’s emissions on a macro scale.”