Four Ways ULI Is Taking Action on Earth Day

April 22, 2019, marks the 49th annual Earth Day. Since its inception in 1970, Earth Day has been a day of civic action when individuals and corporations around the world mobilize around environmental protection and preservation. Through the Urban Land Institute’s Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance, we are celebrating Earth Day by bringing awareness to the way that members and nonmembers alike can get involved in our efforts to support real estate and land use professionals to create and invest in communities and buildings that are more energy efficient, healthy, resilient, and sustainable.

Learn more below about each of the programs and initiatives within the ULI Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance, and see how you can get involved with Navigator (navigator.uli.org). ULI members can search for and find all ULI sustainability-related content in one place on Knowledge Finder (knowledge.uli.org). You can also donate to support this work at annualfund.uli.org.

ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance

The ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance is a worldwide alliance of leading real estate owners, investors, and strategic partners committed to improving the environmental performance of the global real estate industry. Through measurement, benchmarking, knowledge sharing, and implementation of best practices, Greenprint and its members strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030. According to Greenprint member Laura Craft, head of global sustainability at Heitman, “Greenprint is leading companies in environmental, social, and governance [ESG] and sustainability, and if you want to raise your standards, you need to be around the cream of the crop.”

Your ULI Greenprint Earth Day Actions:

• Encourage your company to join ULI Greenprint! Get started viathe Navigator opportunity.
• Listen to our recent ULI Greenprintinformational webinar.
• Reach out to [email protected]for more details and to schedule an introductory call.

ULI Tenant Energy Optimization Program

The ULI Tenant Energy Optimization Program (TEOP) helps owners, tenants, and other stakeholders work together to integrate energy efficiency into tenant space design and construction to achieve excellent returns in the form of energy conservation and cost savings.

Your TEOP Earth Day Actions:

• Read more about the process, benefits, and case studies at uli.org.
• Take the TEOP pledgeto demonstrate your commitment to delivering a high-performance, sustainable tenant space.

ULI Urban Resilience Program

The ULI Urban Resilience Program provides ULI members, the public, and communities across the United States with information on how to be more resilient in the face of climate change and other environmental vulnerabilities. The program seeks to provide technical assistance, advance knowledge, and catalyze the adoption of transformative practices for real estate and land use policy, building from the knowledge of ULI members.

Your Urban Resilience Earth Day Actions:

• Visit the new Developing Urban Resiliencesite to see the program’s work.
• Submit your own case study and expertise for inclusion on the Developing Urban Resilience site via the Navigator opportunity.

ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative

The ULI Building Healthy Places (BHP) Initiative works to engage, inform, and inspire ULI members to do more to promote health within their organizations, in their investment and development decisions, and through their leadership in communities. Through research, convening, advisory activities, and more, BHP advances the ULI mission and promotes healthy, thriving communities.

Your BHP Earth Day Actions:

• Read up on health, wellness, and social equity in real estate with BHP reports.
• Become a participant in the BHP Health Leaders Network Program via the Navigator opportunity.

The 10-Minute Walk Campaign

The 10-Minute Walk Campaign, launched in partnership with ULI, the Trust for Public Land (TPL), and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), is a nationwide movement to ensure that there is a high-quality park within a 10-minute walk of every person, in every neighborhood, in every city across America. So far, the 10-Minute Walk has been endorsed by more than 220 U.S. mayors—from across the political spectrum and from cities large and small—who have committed to working toward universal park access. ULI, TPL, and NRPA work with partners in select cities on measurable policies and strategies to advance the 10-Minute Walk vision.

Your 10-Minute Walk Campaign Earth Day Action:

• Learn more about hosting a National Study Visit in your community by emailing [email protected].

Want to learn more about the ULI Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance? Sign up for our newsletter at uli.org/sustainability.