2023 Fall Issue of Urban Land - 31

attract and retain top talent,
especially younger generations
who are more engaged
in these issues. Maintaining a
defined sustainability strategy
can enhance employees' feelings
of pride and meaning in
their work, as well as a stronger
connection to the company's
mission.
I believe in the power of
our industry to rise to the
occasion, invest in needed
improvements, and change
the course of climate change,
and I believe ULI is an important
convener for this work. In
2021, I made a personal contribution
to launch ULI's Net
Zero Imperative, which aims
to accelerate the decarbonization
of the built environment
in cities and to democratize
sustainability best practices for
all organizations that own and
use buildings. With a toolkit
of interventions to support a
path to decarbonization, the
program supports actionable
and measurable projects to
reduce climate change-
causing carbon emissions and,
thereby, to support the longterm
value of our investments.
The opportunity cost of
inaction is too high. This is
why I believe so strongly in
the value that ULI's Randall
Lewis Center for Sustainability
in Real Estate and the Net
Zero Imperative provide to
leaders and organizations. The
tools exist to make improvements
that not only will benefit
future generations through
climate resiliency but also will
support the financial vibrancy
of organizations today.
We must view today's challenges
also as opportunities to
differentiate our organizations.
We can do the right thing,
as well as the smart thing
for our organizations and the
built environment by making a
significant and lasting impact
through bending the curve on
climate change. UL
OWEN D. THOMAS is the chairman and
CEO of BXP, and former chairman of ULI.
I believe in the
power of our
industry to rise
to the occasion,
invest in needed
improvements,
and change
the course of
climate change. "
-OWEN THOMAS,
BXP
ULI Net Zero
Imperative
Empowering cities
to accelerate
decarbonization
The phrase " think globally,
act locally " is fully
embodied in ULI's Net
Zero Imperative program,
a multiyear initiative to
accelerate decarbonization
in the built environment.
Considering that
the built environment is
responsible for 40 percent
of global carbon
emissions, we are facing
a crisis of massive scale.
Although the challenges
to decarbonize are similar
everywhere, the solutions
have nuance-every community
is different. Local
variables like government
politics, sustainability
progress, policies in place,
and overall economics
make a big difference
in how the industry can
make meaningful change.
To address these challenges,
the Net Zero
Imperative is acting
locally to advance
ULI's mission priority
to achieve net zero by
2050. Thanks to a generous
donation from
Owen Thomas, the Net
Zero Imperative began
in summer 2021 as a
five-year cohort program
that sponsors ULI technical
assistance panels
in localities to help the
public and private sectors
develop a pathway
to decarbonization.
Local champions remain
focused on encouraging
implementation and
follow-through of the
resulting recommendations.
Participants collaborate
in a global cohort
that shares best practices
and solves problems
together. From such local
efforts, ULI research staff
pull key themes to create
global resources that
help the wider real estate
industry decarbonize.
ULI is leveraging the
power of its global network
to drive development
and investment
that supports this path
to decarbonization and
gets the private sector
working hand-in-hand
with cities on policy and
incentives that can help
accelerate investment in
decarbonization.
And so far, it's working.
To date, the Net Zero
Imperative has funded
over a dozen technical
assistance panels, ranging
in topics from multifamily
electrification to net zero
new construction incentives,
from ClimateTech
innovations to tenant
engagement for wholebuilding
decarbonization.
Localities are eager to
move forward and accelerate
the built environment's
journey to zero.
Learn more at https://uli.
org/netzeroimperative. UL
CHRIS PERKES leads ULI's Net Zero
Imperative.
FALL 2023
URBAN LAND
31
DEVELOPMENTS
https://uli
2023 Fall Issue of Urban Land

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