The ULI Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance is dedicated to creating healthy, resilient, and high performance communities around the world. Through the work of its Greenprint, Building Healthy Places, and Urban Resilience programs, the Center provides leadership and support to real estate and land use professionals to invest in energy efficient, healthy, resilient, and sustainable buildings and communities.

In 2014, ULI’s Board decided to create the new Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance as a logical transition from the organization’s previous work under the Climate, Land Use, and Energy (CLUE) program. The new Center builds upon the work of CLUE and broadens its scope to address adaptation as well as mitigation.

Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance Programs

The programs within the Center are the ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance, the Tenant Energy Optimization Program, the Urban Resilience Program, and the ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative. In 2018, the Center also started the 10-Minute Walk campaign in partnership with the Trust for Public Land and National Recreation and Park Association.

The ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance is a catalyst for change, taking meaningful, immediate, and measurable actions to generate real estate solutions that improve the environment through energy efficiency while demonstrating the correlation with increased property values.

The Tenant Energy Optimization Program is a proven, replicable approach that integrates energy efficiency into tenant space design and construction and delivers excellent financial returns through energy conservation. The process emphasizes the importance of collaboration between tenants, building owners, and service providers.

The Urban Resilience Program looks at how cities can prepare for the expected effects of climate change.  From rising sea levels to more frequent storm events to extended droughts, the changing climate poses short- and long-term risks and opportunities for urban planning and development.  The Urban Resilience program provides resources and strategies to mitigate those risks and to create a more resilient and durable vision for community development. Learn about real estate development projects showcasing best practices in resilient design.

The ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative includes research and publications, convenings, and advisory activities—to leverage the power of the Institute’s global networks to shape projects and places in ways that improve the health of people and communities. The Building Healthy Places Toolkit: Strategies for Enhancing Health in the Built Environment outlines evidence-supported opportunities for enhancing health outcomes in real estate developments.

The 10-Minute Walk campaign is a nationwide movement to ensure that there’s a great park within a 10-minute walk of every person, in every neighborhood, in every city across America. The campaign was launched in partnership with the Trust for Public Land and National Recreation and Park Association. The Parks and Open Space Resource Library, curated by the 10-Minute Walk team, provides examples of and strategies for transformative development through parks and open space.

Sustainability Videos