Smart Building Resource Roundup

What we’re reading & who we're listening to

Nexus Lab

We don’t think there’s any single person or organization doing more to consolidate share information about the smart building industry than Nexus Lab founder, James Dice. If you’re not already following him, stop reading and do that now. 

His podcast is required listening for everyone on the Techmenity team 

Recent podcast highlights:

• CRE Market Talk with Mandi Wedin & Joe Gasperdone
• Decarbonizing NYC through Local Law 97
• Integrating "Smart" Into the Construction Process with Charlie Buscarino

Nexus White papers:

• Nexus Lore: Smart Building Blocks
• The Untapped 87%

WiredScore Research Report

It is common practice that commercial tenants and brokers now assess the WiredScore ranking when considering new office space. In this report, a number of buildings across North America were surveyed to assess the impact that a WiredScore certification has on occupancy rates, lease length, and rent. *We suggest that the multifamily market pay close attention to these findings:

💡 3.8% lower vacancy rates in US office buildings that are WiredScore certified, compared to similar profile non-certified buildings

💡 9 months longer leases on average for tenants in WiredScore certified office buildings compared to similar profile non-certified buildings

💡 2.2% greater rental growth in Class A WiredScore certified office properties than similar profile non-certified buildings over the past two years

Smart Building Collective | Certification

Without a standard definition, almost any building upgrade can be called ‘smart’ for sales and marketing purposes. But when those upgrades fail to deliver, the customers lose faith in the technology, which undermines our entire industry. The Smart Building Certification is setting expectations for more meaningful adoption by standardizing a methodology for assessing and rating smart buildings. We’re following their thought leadership closely and studying use cases across Europe to learn where and how we can apply these standards in New York.

ESG, Building Emissions & Decarbonization

Despite widespread corporate commitments to do so, most property owners don’t have a real, detailed plan for decarbonizing their portfolios. Again, Nexus Labs is doing a great job synthesizing information and opinions around the very complex challenge of making our buildings and cities more sustainable. Here are some key takeaways:

• Carbon reduction is a more holistic approach that takes into account both efficiency and the source origination of the energy used. But energy efficiency remains the primary way to get to decarbonization. It’s just not the end of the journey. First, we optimize efficiency and then we decarbonize the energy generation.
• We shift from energy to carbon management by (1) integrating with the core business, (2) integrating with capital planning, tenant fit-outs, and maintenance process, and (2) changing the way we analyze data.
• The industry acknowledges that fast action is needed to become net-zero, for three main reasons: regulatory compliance, protecting the value of assets and saving on energy spend. (see graphic below)

Image source: Nexus Labs

ESG Resources:

• Decarbonizing NYC through Local Law 97

• The Clean Fight: battery and energy storage solutions 

• Energy Efficiency Thinking is Outdated

• Energy Management Hierarchy of Needs 

• New Funding for Decarbonization  

• Types of Financial Risk

Do you have another industry leader that we should be following? Drop a comment below and let us know!