Green Building

Green Building And Proptech: A Perfect Match

The summer headlines have been gloomier than usual.

Photographs of destructive hurricanes, raging wildfires, and unbearable heat waves splash across the front pages of news blogs and online papers. If nothing else, it’s a wake-up call that, collectively, humans need to re-evaluate their impact on the earth.

Yet, how does one reconcile these truths with stats about real estate? According to recent research, the built environment (including existing and new construction) is responsible for roughly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This figure begs the question: Is there a better way to buy, invest, and/or live inside our homes?

The answer is yes. Thanks to strides in the Green Building movement and PropTech industries, there’s a way forward for real estate.

What Is Green Building?

eco-friendly real estate

Green Building is a tent term referring to eco-friendly real estate. It may refer to the buildings themselves, which may leverage resource-efficient features, net-zero energy systems, or waste reduction concepts.

Or it may refer to the macro applications of environmental responsibility and sustainability in development. In these cases, developers might look toward creating less car-dependent neighborhoods or retrofitting an area’s buildings for mixed-use.

Partly, the Green Building movement emerged through good old-fashioned altruism on the part of progressive developers and investors who wanted to leave a better world behind. But arguably, most of the thanks and praise should go to consumers for the sea change; their preferences and expectations surrounding real estate responsibility – “voting with their wallet,” so to speak – have shaped the Green Building approach more than anything else. And lastly, you can’t discount the impact of public policies and governmental agencies in spurring the idea forward.

What Is PropTech?

Property Technology

PropTech is short for Property Technology. It’s a relatively recent term that describes a spate of new tech companies emerging in the real estate industry to aid consumers, add efficiency to once-inefficient processes, and generally streamline the entire real estate experience.

PropTech luminary Regan McGee, has focused his efforts on empowering consumers in an industry traditionally defined by opacity and malpractice. His company, Nobul, helps bring “more transparency, credibility, and accountability to the single biggest transaction of people’s lives.” Elsewhere in the PropTech world, some innovators are working on harnessing big data to mitigate risk for investors and consumers, aiming to rid the industry of its “gambling” aspect.

And then there are the PropTechs focused on environmental change.

How These Forward-Thinking Concepts Intersect

guide Green Building initiatives

Several PropTech companies are helping shape and guide Green Building initiatives. Some of these companies leverage emerging technologies like IoT and AI/ML to ensure new and existing buildings run efficiently. By fitting facilities with smart devices and real-time IoT-enabled monitors, they allow building managers to assess the health of their HVAC systems, lighting, etc., vastly reducing a building’s carbon footprint.

Elsewhere, other PropTechs have developed co-living and mixed-use space concepts to reduce the damaging effects of personal transportation. By developing flexible spaces with residences, small businesses, food purveyors, micro-fulfillment centers, etc., these companies create liveable, walkable hubs that lessen personal emissions footprints.

It’s important to note that both Green Building concepts and the PropTech sector are relatively recent phenomena. As the two industries mature, expect them to find even more mutual ground and symbiosis. If this summer’s new stories are anything to go by, the future may depend on their cooperation.

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Abdul Aziz Mondol is a professional blogger who is having a colossal interest in writing blogs and other jones of calligraphies. In terms of his professional commitments, he loves to share content related to business, finance, technology, and the gaming niche.

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