Jones Lang LaSalle has published a guide to energy, sustainability and climate regulations affecting building owners and managers around the world.
The latest edition of Global Sustainability Perspective details legislation and incentives related to renewable energy, environmental reporting, carbon emissions reductions and other issues. The report was developed by experts in more than ten countries, Jones Lang LaSalle says.
The guide joins a growing number of resources for managers seeking to understand the vast and growing array of environmental laws and regulations around the world. Earlier this month the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) launched BuildingRating.org, a global library of building energy rating policies. A new resource for comparing state policies is the American Council on Renewable Energy’s (ACORE) 2011 update and redesign of its report, Renewable Energy in America: Markets, Economic Development and Policy in the 50 States.
Last November the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) released the third edition of its GreenGuide for sustainable buildings, while the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) made available updated versions of its energy efficiency modeling software programs.
“Carbon reporting, energy and water consumption, renewable energy generation and other environmental issues are high on the list of concerns for governments around the world, and many of the actions taken to address these issues affect commercial buildings,” said Dan Probst, chairman of energy and sustainability services at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). “As a leading global commercial real estate services firm, we have an obligation to understand the impact of national and provincial laws on our investor and occupier clients worldwide, in order to provide world-class expertise and strategies for leasing, investment, development and facility management.”
JLL says its guide will help multi-national companies and investors contend with the array of municipal, state and provincial, national and regional laws governing carbon, energy, water, waste, pollution and environmental risks. These laws include not just mandates but tax breaks, grants and other incentives.
Government actions detailed in the current issue of Global Sustainability Perspective include:
ESG Reporting: Regulators in Europe, and beyond, are requiring greater corporate transparency with more stringent environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure laws. Countries such as Denmark, France, Indonesia and the United States are setting the standard for non-financial corporate reporting regulation, JLL says.
Energy Efficiency and Carbon Performance: Mandatory directives in EU countries are complemented by voluntary standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative, JLL says. In the U.S., cities such as San Francisco and New York are starting to require energy audits and improvement programs in existing buildings.
Renewable Energy: India and China are poised for unprecedented growth in the installed base of renewable energy on the rooftops of buildings, JLL says. Extended federal tax benefits in the U.S. suggest another record-setting year of solar power development, it adds.
Picture credit: Chris Devers
