How to develop partnerships that deliver on decarbonization goals
Partnering with internal and external stakeholders is the first step to reduce carbon emissions within your real estate portfolio
The importance of internal and external sustainability partnerships
You already work alongside many partners to manage your assets and ensure your organization has the space it needs to achieve its business goals. As you continue to contribute to your organization’s sustainability efforts, you need to collaborate with those same internal and external groups—and probably some new ones. Here’s an overview of the partners you need to get the job done.
Developing and implementing decarbonization strategies for CRE organizations is complicated—and collaboration is essential. There’s a lot of noise in the sustainability space and dozens of different frameworks, certifications and proposed new technologies to consider. Collecting the data, assembling the team, baselining and benchmarking your targets and putting measures in place to monitor and track is a major challenge.
For real estate professionals, finding partners with a strong knowledge of the day-to-day operations of the built environment, as well as expertise in the evolving sustainability space, can be the difference-maker that helps you take advantage of the significant carbon reduction opportunities within your portfolio.
Gathering data to properly baseline and benchmark the current performance of your real estate assets is the first step in your sustainability journey. Whether you’ve already started reporting on your sustainability progress, or have just started planning your strategy, partnering with internal departments is vital to address challenges your organizations may face reaching targeted goals.
| Enterprise data and analytics | Business operations | Procurement |
| Facilities management (owned and leased) | Leasing administration | Legal |
| Engineering | IT | Finance |
| Sustainability officer/manager | Marketing Comms/Corporate Responsibility | Board of Directors |
Ways to work to with internal partners to keep sustainability commitments on track:
- If your organization has a sustainability officer or manager, you should be sitting down regularly to discuss the role real estate plays in meeting your targeted goals.
- Your finance partners can help you create a strategic budget with spending for critical improvements.
Questions to consider when working with internal sustainability stakeholders :
- Do you have the talent in house with the knowledge to support your carbon reduction goals?
- Does your organization have staff with technical expertise in sustainability?
| Building owners | Property/facilities management |
| Consultants | Energy (utilities) |
| Waste management | Property tech (if outsourced) |
| Federal, state, and local governments | Green building certification organizations |
All of these external groups can contribute to your sustainability strategy and will be critical in actually getting the work done. Remember, your leased spaces play an important role to help your organization reach its sustainability and carbon reduction targets.
Ways to work with external partners to measure and reduce emissions:
- First, seek out consultants and other suppliers who can support your end-to-end journey as they will be instrumental in setting your strategy and coordinating all your partners, both within your organization and outside of it.
- Share your targets with your building owner(s) and get an account of their stated goals to find ways to work together.
Questions to consider when selecting external sustainability partners:
- Does your current sustainability technology provide full visibility of your carbon emissions?
- Do your sustainability partners truly understand your real estate portfolio?
There’s no time to waste, especially in industries like commercial real estate, where capital planning, budgeting, and development cycles can stretch over a decade. Developing and implementing decarbonization strategies for your owned or leased real estate is complicated —and collaboration is essential.
To explore more ways you can collaborate with internal and external groups, download JLL’s guide to partnerships inside and outside your organization to baseline, plan and implement your decarbonization strategies.
