The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has introduced a groundbreaking program named PERFORM, which aims to transform real estate portfolios into exemplary models of sustainability. This initiative, fully supported by Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI), provides organizations with the necessary guidance, tools, and third-party verification to achieve their sustainability goals and improve overall portfolio performance.
The Purpose and Goals of PERFORM
Advancing Sustainability Across Real Estate Portfolios
Peter Templeton, president & CEO of USGBC and GBCI, emphasizes that PERFORM is designed to help organizations advance sustainability across their real estate portfolios, regardless of building type or starting point. PERFORM is not just about achieving sustainability targets; it’s about contributing to broader organizational performance goals and facilitating market transformation through measurable performance improvements within the built environment. This initiative aims to provide a robust structure that allows any organization to integrate sustainability into their overall strategic goals, thereby fostering a market shift toward more sustainable practices.
PERFORM articulates its purpose by addressing a broad spectrum of sustainability challenges such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing resilience, protecting human and ecosystem health, and promoting equity across communities. By setting these comprehensive goals, the USGBC and GBCI are equipped to support real estate portfolios in making significant, measurable improvements. This approach ensures that organizations are not only aiming high but are also provided with a clear path to realize these ambitious objectives, ultimately setting a new standard in sustainable real estate practices.
Addressing Critical Sustainability Issues
PERFORM tackles critical sustainability issues head-on, including the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions, which is crucial in combating climate change. It also focuses on resilience strengthening, which is essential for buildings to withstand and adapt to various environmental stressors now and in the future. Protecting human and ecosystem health is another cornerstone of the program, ensuring that the built environment contributes positively to overall well-being. Lastly, advancing equity across communities is vital, as sustainable practices must also promote social justice and inclusivity.
By setting these areas of focus, the program aims to create a substantial impact on both the environment and society. PERFORM’s holistic approach ensures that its sustainability efforts are comprehensive and effective. It considers the multi-faceted nature of sustainability, addressing environmental, social, and economic aspects in tandem. This initiative supports organizations in crafting and implementing strategies that not only aim for emissions reductions but also enhance ecological health and foster community resilience and equity, contributing to broader societal benefits.
Tools and Features of PERFORM
Standardized Guidance and Assessment
PERFORM offers standardized portfolio-wide guidance and assessment aimed at helping organizations devise actionable plans, goals, and strategies. Such guidance ensures that each organization has a clear and structured roadmap to follow in their sustainability journey. This structured approach allows for streamlined planning processes, enabling organizations to set achievable and measurable targets. It provides a standardized format that can be adapted to specific organizational needs, ensuring that no matter the starting point, each building or portfolio can become more sustainable.
The assessment component of PERFORM provides a thorough evaluation of current sustainability performance and identifies areas for improvement. This initial assessment is crucial for understanding where the most significant impacts can be made and helps organizations prioritize their sustainability initiatives. It sets a baseline from which progress can be measured, ensuring that subsequent strategies and actions are data-driven and targeted. With such robust evaluation in place, PERFORM facilitates a systematic improvement in sustainability performance across diverse real estate portfolios.
Measurement and Verification
PERFORM includes rigorous measurement and verification of portfolio-wide improvements relative to the organization’s commitments. This aspect of the program covers various critical sustainability metrics such as emissions, energy consumption, waste management, and water usage. By systematically tracking these metrics, PERFORM ensures that organizations have a comprehensive overview of their sustainability performance. This continuous monitoring is essential for identifying trends, challenges, and opportunities for further improvement.
Beyond simple tracking, the verification component of PERFORM adds an extra layer of credibility to an organization’s sustainability claims. Third-party verification by GBCI ensures that reported improvements are accurate and aligned with the commitments made. This independent validation is crucial for maintaining transparency and trust with stakeholders, whether they are investors, customers, or regulatory bodies. By providing a verified account of progress, PERFORM helps organizations substantiate their sustainability achievements and build a reputation for genuine commitment to sustainable practices.
Technical Support
PERFORM offers technical support that is specifically tailored to existing building portfolios at various performance levels. This support aligns with each organization’s unique goals, strategies, and circumstances, ensuring that every participant receives the necessary assistance to succeed. Technical support can range from practical advice on implementing new technologies to guidance on optimizing existing systems for better sustainability performance. This personalized approach ensures that solutions are context-specific and feasible within each organization’s framework.
The tailored support provided by PERFORM addresses the unique challenges faced by different organizations, regardless of their starting points. It helps bridge the gap between setting aspirational sustainability goals and implementing the on-the-ground changes needed to achieve them. By offering ongoing technical assistance, PERFORM ensures that organizations do not just set targets but also develop the capability to meet them. This support is critical in fostering long-term sustainability, as it builds internal expertise and capacity within organizations to maintain and enhance their performance over time.
Bridging the Gap Between Targets and Outcomes
Addressing the Lack of Actionable Plans
Research conducted by the Financial Times in collaboration with Smurfit Kappa has revealed that many organizations, despite setting ambitious sustainability targets, lack robust and actionable plans to achieve them. Similarly, a report by the New Climate Institute indicates that numerous organizations with corporate net-zero commitments have not substantially improved the quality or credibility of their net-zero strategies. This gap between target setting and tangible action is a significant challenge that PERFORM aims to address by providing practical solutions and measurable outcomes.
PERFORM offers a systematic approach to bridge this gap, helping organizations translate their sustainability targets into actionable, measurable plans. By providing a clear framework for setting goals, devising strategies, and measuring progress, PERFORM creates a structured pathway for organizations to follow. This ensures that sustainability commitments are not just aspirational but are backed by detailed and actionable plans. The program’s comprehensive tools and guidance help organizations move from intention to implementation, ensuring that they can achieve their sustainability goals and demonstrate tangible progress.
Complementing the LEED Green Building System
PERFORM complements the USGBC’s LEED green building system, which certifies buildings and projects to a defined, consensus-based leadership standard. While LEED focuses on certifying individual buildings and projects, PERFORM extends these principles across entire real estate portfolios. This broader approach helps organizations set customized goals, implement detailed plans, measure improvements over time, and verify achievements. By integrating these aspects, PERFORM ensures that sustainability efforts are comprehensive and consistent across multiple assets.
Beyond just focusing on energy and climate-related goals, PERFORM assesses a wide range of environmental, social, and resilience metrics. This holistic view aligns with the LEED framework but expands it to consider broader portfolio-level impacts. By doing so, organizations can achieve a more integrated and strategic approach to sustainability, ensuring that they address all relevant aspects of their operations. This complementarity between PERFORM and LEED creates a robust and comprehensive approach to sustainable real estate management, driving significant improvements across the built environment.
Real-World Applications and Feedback
Success Stories from Participants
Grubb Properties participant Andy Zou and Proximity Parks CEO Mario Berlanga have commended the PERFORM program for its effectiveness in aligning with their larger sustainability strategies. Zou recognized the value of acknowledgment from the USGBC, emphasizing that the program’s structured approach has significantly contributed to their overall sustainability efforts. The PERFORM initiative provided actionable strategies that align with their overarching goals, making it easier to integrate sustainability into their broader business operations.
Mario Berlanga expressed gratitude for the learning opportunities provided by the PERFORM program. He highlighted that the insights and guidance received through the program have been instrumental in enhancing their sustainability commitment. The practical tools and support offered through the program have enabled Proximity Parks to implement more effective sustainability measures, leading to measurable improvements. Both participants appreciate the program’s role in fostering a deeper understanding of sustainability best practices and its contribution to achieving their environmental objectives.
Expanding Partnerships
Looking ahead, USGBC and GBCI plan to expand partnerships with organizations such as Schneider Electric, ClimateFirst, Carbonsight, and Kode Labs. These collaborations aim to improve data exchange and streamline data management at the portfolio level. The introduction of new tools through these partnerships is expected to drive further improvements in sustainability performance. By leveraging the expertise and technological capabilities of these partners, PERFORM can offer more advanced and comprehensive solutions for sustainability tracking and management.
Additionally, USGBC and GBCI intend to bolster partnerships with Measurabl to enhance data sharing for verifying portfolio-level sustainability metrics. This collaboration will enable more accurate and efficient tracking of sustainability performance, ensuring that organizations can reliably monitor and report their progress. Collaboration with entities like GRESB, Nareit, and ISSP will also support organizations in the early stages of their sustainability journey, focusing on providing guidance and education. These partnerships are crucial for expanding the reach and effectiveness of the PERFORM program, helping a larger number of organizations achieve their sustainability goals.
Accessing PERFORM Through Arc
The Arc Digital Platform
PERFORM, officially named Arc PERFORM, is accessible via Arc, a new digital platform and workspace integrating all USGBC and GBCI products. From the Arc dashboard, organizations can access PERFORM, utilize a custom target-setting tool, track metrics, set goals, and submit data for GBCI verification for a fee. This digital platform streamlines the process of managing sustainability initiatives, providing a centralized location for all relevant tools and information. The integration with other USGBC and GBCI products ensures that organizations can leverage a comprehensive suite of resources to support their sustainability efforts.
The Arc platform enhances the accessibility and usability of the PERFORM program, making it easier for organizations to implement and track their sustainability initiatives. By providing a user-friendly interface, Arc facilitates the ongoing management of sustainability goals and progress. This digital workspace also allows for seamless data collection and analysis, enabling organizations to make informed decisions and adjustments to their strategies. The integration with GBCI verification ensures that all reported data is credible and accurate, maintaining the integrity of the program.
Comprehensive Assessment Process
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has unveiled a revolutionary program called PERFORM, aimed at transforming real estate portfolios into benchmarks of sustainability. This ambitious initiative is fully endorsed by Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI) and provides comprehensive solutions to help organizations meet their sustainability targets. With this program, companies receive essential guidance, advanced tools, and independent third-party verification to significantly enhance the sustainability and overall performance of their portfolios. PERFORM is designed to support businesses in reducing their environmental impact, promoting energy efficiency, and adopting green practices. By participating in this program, organizations can ensure their real estate assets not only comply with current sustainability standards but also pave the way for a more sustainable future. This initiative embodies USGBC’s commitment to advancing sustainable building practices and aims to set a high standard in the industry. Through collaboration and innovation, PERFORM promises to help businesses achieve meaningful and measurable progress toward a greener and more sustainable environment.
