Published February 27, 2020
The latest installment in BOMA International’s policy brief series, released at the Winter Business Meeting, addresses the difficult topic of climate change and how state and local governments are increasingly looking to the building sector for solutions. Climate Policies: Carbon Reduction and the Targeting of Building Emissions , focuses on the growing policy trend to dramatically increase “green” goals and initiatives without fully considering how feasible these are. While the intentions may be laudable, in some cases, the policies have centered on unfunded and unrealistic mandates related to building emissions. The policy brief aims to assist markets that haven’t yet dealt with these issues by providing background on several coordinated efforts to enact policy at both the state and local levels, as well as highlighting several large cities that have already undertaken ambitious approaches. As attention on climate change and resilience promises only to increase, commercial real estate can and will play a significant role, and this policy brief includes basic action steps to help ensure that related policies are fair and effective.