Verdani Partners

Join us today from 10 am - 11 pm PST for a special webinar about the Global Race to Net Zero: Commercial Real Estate Strategies. This free, one-hour webinar from leaders within the industry will map out new targets from ULI Greenprint, Better Building Challenge and Science Based Targets along with methods for how to achieve Net Zero targets through energy efficiency, power grid electrification, onsite and offsite renewables, embodied carbon and circular economy strategies. ...Practical case studies about CommonWealth Partners and Jamestown Properties will highlight how to achieve #NetZero and work through challenges along the path. Speakers include Becca Rushin, Vice President for Sustainability and Social Responsibility for Jamestown L.P., Jessica Loeper, Director of Sustainability for CommonWealth Partners, and representatives from Verdani Partners including Kelsey Ceccarelli, Associate Engineering Manager, and Daniele Horton, Founder and President, as moderator. Sign up today: http://ow.ly/TsYD50DoxSa #Sustainability #ESG #Webinar #CRE #VerdaniPartners

Join us today from 11 am - 12 pm PST for a special webinar about the Global Race to Net Zero: Commercial Real Estate Strategies. This free, one-hour webinar from leaders within the industry will map out new targets from ULI Greenprint, Better Building Challenge and Science Based Targets along with methods for how to achieve Net Zero targets through energy efficiency, power grid electrification, onsite and offsite renewables, embodied carbon and circular economy strategies. ...Practical case studies about CommonWealth Partners and Jamestown Properties will highlight how to achieve #NetZero and work through challenges along the path. Speakers include Becca Rushin, Vice President for Sustainability and Social Responsibility for Jamestown L.P., Jessica Loeper, Director of Sustainability for CommonWealth Partners, and representatives from Verdani Partners including Kelsey Ceccarelli, Associate Engineering Manager, and Daniele Horton, Founder and President, as moderator. Sign up today: http://ow.ly/TsYD50DoxSa #Sustainability #ESG #Webinar #CRE #VerdaniPartners

Goldman Sachs recently announced the issuance of its first Sustainability Bond in an $800 million offering, with proceeds to be allocated towards projects and initiatives aimed at accelerating the climate transition and advancing inclusive growth. Sustainability bonds are one of the fastest growing categories of the sustainable finance market, with funds that are earmarked to finance combinations of eligible green and social projects. David Solomon, Chairman and Chief Executi...ve at Goldman Sachs, said: The launch of our first sustainability bond shows that investors can drive innovative solutions by using our firm’s extensive platform and resources. We’ve said building a low-carbon, inclusive economy is a business imperative, and now we’re demonstrating our commitment by using the same financial toolkit we recommend to our clients. Learn more: http://ow.ly/KA3o50DBLpT #SustainabilityBond #ESG #GoldmanSachs

2021 will be the year of sustainability-linked bonds, said Marilyn Ceci, global head of ESG debt capital markets at JPMorgan. It’s going to be the fastest-growing sustainable instrument that we have if we extrapolate what we’ve seen already. Global sales of the bonds could be between $120 billion and $150 billion by the end of this year, boosted by strong demand from investors, Ceci said in an interview. That compares with $8.9 billion of issuance in 2020, excluding local... currency debt, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. http://ow.ly/Xd9M50DuMRR #ESG #Sustainability #Bonds #Investing #JPMorgan

President and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute, Rachel Hodgdon, recently shared how the COVID-19 pandemic has rooted the conversation about health and well-being. Hodgdon reflected on the rapid growth of the WELL Health-Safety Rating program explaining that "currently, more than 1.5 billion square feet of real estate is participating in WELL offerings. It took us about 66 months to reach 600 million square feet enrolled for WELL Certification; it took less th...an six months for WELL Health-Safety Rating to reach the same milestone." "The starkest shift" she explained, "has been in the value organizations are now placing on the health and well-being of their staff, customers and other stakeholders...Those that didn’t quickly adapt their processes to support the health and safety of their employees saw massive impacts on the overall productivity and profitability of their businesses, not to mention the potential for lasting brand damage....It’s something that needs to be seen as a critical short and long-term investment." Learn more: http://ow.ly/Fb7R50DuLnm #IWBI #WELL #

Office and retail may see a shift in the post-pandemic economy as rent collections start to stabilize and prospects become more clear. Experts predict that some retail centers that were focusing on experiential businesses might shift to a grocery-anchored approach, and offices could see a trend towards "de-densification" and shorter leases. #REIT #Office #Retail #Pandemic #COVID-19 http://ow.ly/ef2B50CzTmj

In this interview, BlackRock's Sherry Rexroad discusses the company's definition of sustainable investing as well as its approach to working with stakeholders and thinking about risk. "That risk return link influences a company's cost of equity and hence our estimate of value," she says. #ESG #SustainableInvesting #BlackRock http://ow.ly/2lRJ50BSCMC

Student climate advocates took to the streets this year despite the UN canceling the 2020 Climate Summit. According to Grist, " Since November 19, 18 student staff, 216 volunteers like Zhan, and more than 350 youth delegates from 146 countries have been convening virtually for Mock COP26, a virtual summit meant to fill the void created by COP26’s postponement. For several hours each day, they’ve attended online workshops, panels, and discussions with environmental activists and experts. Their goal is to craft a formal statement of policy demands that, when the conference ends on December 1, they’ll deliver to Nigel Topping, the High Level Climate Action Champion designated to engage with stakeholders and promote climate action ahead of COP26." #ClimateChange #ClimateAction #ESG #Sustainability http://ow.ly/nU2050CzSSs

Renewables are on the fast track in New York where legislation was passed in April that is intended to "accelerate wind and solar development by streamlining the permitting process through a new Office of Renewable Energy Siting." This marks the second attempt to do accelerate renewables since 2011 when the state legislature passed the Power New York Act, which was also supposed to simplify the regulatory process for renewable energy. #ESG #Sustainability #RenewableEnergy #Solar #Wind http://ow.ly/54oL50CzSIx

A recent report prepared by ULI and Heitman, in collaboration with Arup Group and consulting group Milliman, concludes that investors are increasingly looking for information about climate risk at a market level, with some even beginning to make decisions about whether to invest, or continue investing, in markets particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The report also documents the factors that climate-focused investors are considering when evaluating marke...ts. In response, a city’s resilience policies, financing strategies, and infrastructure investments are likely to become more important to real estate investor decision-making. #Resilience #ESG #RealEstate #Investor Learn more: http://ow.ly/hZtY50BSBBD

"Last week, the London-based bank HSBC hopped on the net-zero train. HSBC laid out a number of new climate commitments: It will reduce the emissions of its own operations and supply chains to net-zero by 2030, reduce the carbon footprint of its client portfolio to net-zero by 2050, provide up to $1 trillion in financing over the next 10 years to help those customers make the transition, and invest $100 million in clean technologies." #NetZero #HSBC #Climate #CarbonFootprint #CleanTech http://ow.ly/HR3M50BSBcq

Recent surveys reveal that despite greater flexibility and autonomy for employees to create their own schedules due to work-from-home mandates, women who report having children under the age of 18 struggle with mounting pressure to manage their careers alongside childcare and household responsibilities. Training leaders to be empathetic and ensuring that employees feel seen and heard are a few of the ways that organizations in the green building industry can help support women during these uncertain times. Learn more in the recent report: http://ow.ly/AGVr50Cg5EX

Throughout the #pandemic, we are all learning new rules to help reduce transmission risk of #COVID-19. This free poster created by Verdani Partners shares some basic guidance for building common areas, including how to: bend the curve, wear a face mask, wash your hands and social distance properly. We invite you to visit: https://www.verdani.com/covid-19 to download this and other posters for free! #Health #Safety #ESG #Sustainability #SlowTheSpread

"All across Florida’s low-lying areas, it’s a similar story, according to research published Monday. The authors argue that not only is climate change eroding one of the most vibrant real estate markets in the country, it has quietly been doing so for nearly a decade." #ClimateChange #CoastalHousing #Florida #SealevelRise http://ow.ly/VQDp50BSB45

With organizations #reopening offices and returning to the #workplace, this "Start Safe" playbook provides some useful guidance from leading #health organizations to ensure building occupant safety and wellbeing as we navigate the #COVID-19 pandemic. http://ow.ly/CyVE50BSBuZ

Multiple REITs have taken bold steps to prioritize diversity and inclusion as strategic imperatives, and 11 REITs are currently part of the Morningstar Minority Empowerment Index. With the historically low percentage of people of color among REIT and commercial real estate executive and corporate board ranks, addressing racial diversity and inclusion has never been more important following the racial justice protests this year. Many companies including Duke Realty, JBG SMITH,... Prologis and other entities, are prioritizing efforts to determine how they can do more to address lingering inequalities. #RacialJustice #Diversity #Inclusion #ESG http://ow.ly/7EXD50BQmO3

Mark your calendars for our free #COVID-19 Webinar! October 28th, 9-10 am PST we will share a detailed one-hour webinar about pandemic best practices in real estate for safeguarding occupant health without compromising the environment. Register today! http://ow.ly/rxaI50BRs7j

Global private equity firms have been moving toward a greater environmental, social and governance focus, and the pandemic is adding urgency to the trend. Private equity businesses account for many of the largest employers in the world, meaning that the trend could have widespread implications. Meanwhile, a Nareit report from earlier this year suggests that more REITs reported ESG factors publicly in 2019 compared with 2018. #ESG #Sustainability #REIT #Nareit http://ow.ly/5cqD50BSAVm

Throughout the #pandemic we are all learning how to adapt to new guidelines to protect the health and safety of those around us and reduce transmission rates of #COVID-19. This poster created for retail spaces helps to inform team members and customers about best practices for employee health and safety, optimal cleanliness and IAQ, and how to minimize cross contamination. The poster also details mask wearing, physical distancing and minimizing contact recommendations. This... poster among others is available freely for download at: https://www.verdani.com/covid-19 #Health #Safety #Retail #CRE #Sustainability #ESG See more

This month, the NHS became the world's first health system to commit to net zero. The bold move towards a decarbonized future follows recommendations by an expert group the NHS Net Zero Expert Panel, which convened in January to analyze evidence on how the health service can help slash UK emissions. According to BusinessGreen, "Based on its findings, the NHS has adopted two targets: for emissions under its direct control to reach net zero by 2040, with an interim reduction target of 80 per cent by 2028-32; and for its wider supply chain footprint to reach net zero by 2045, with an 80 per cent reduction target set between 2036 and 2039." #NetZero #NHS #Decarbonize http://ow.ly/o90E50BSAzA

A new type of socially-minded bond is being marketed that gives companies more financial options by allowing them to use the proceeds for general purposes. These sustainability-linked bonds are set up so that interest rates rise if companies don't meet environmental and other targets before maturity. Learn more: http://ow.ly/gYIv50BSCGe

Need signage for restaurants during the #pandemic? Verdani Partners has produced a series of free posters available for download at: https://www.verdani.com/covid-19. This restaurant patrons safety poster shares key information about how to keep team members health and safe, provides guidelines for optimal cleanliness and how to minimize contact. It also shares tips for protecting the health and safety of guests, physical distancing recommendations and how to minimize contact during restaurant visits. We invite you to visit our website today to learn more about our #COVID-19 materials! #Health #Safety #ESG #Sustainability