A new era is dawning on the REIT and real estate investment community. And, it is “green all over.” As a result, “green-collared” jobs are now added to the workforce at breakneck speed. More and more dollars are aimed to seek LEED certification, employ reusable materials and implement energy-reducing products such as solar roofs.

REITs and publicly traded real estate are leading the charge in the U.S. in sustainability evolution, from green development to LEED certification to adapting to new codes and regulations. In fact, buildings in the United States account for 40 percent of the country’s total energy use and 70 percent of its electrical consumption, and the industry is stepping up its efforts to curtail negative effects of generating 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions nationwide.

As you review these pages, you will read that more real estate companies are creating sustainability programs, reducing carbon footprints and taking responsibility for the communities in which they do business. In fact, in “Measure for Measure,” you’ll find that there is already one U.S. REIT that offers a registered report on corporate social responsibility (CSR), and many are to follow.

Diving further into the issue, U.S. real estate is taking a cue from its European counterparts in terms of certification, standards and disclosing energy consumption at the corporate and property level. Turn to “Green Across the Globe” to read the various strides that Australia and Europe have made in commercial real estate sustainability, and what the U.S. needs to do to catch up.

Additionally, in “Live Green or Die,” issues like climate change and energy conservation will become increasingly prevalent policy topics in the next four years, regardless of who is elected President in November. As the environmental debate heats up, new environmental laws and regulations will most likely enter onto the real estate scene and will dramatically affect the way REITs do business.

Erin Corcoran
Managing Editor