Can the sustainability tech boom help decarbonize real estate?

As more businesses invest in sustainability technologies across their real estate portfolio, they’re grappling with the practicalities of integrating them.

One hurdle to the implementation of these technologies is that many businesses lack a concrete roadmap.

“Successfully integrating these technologies into real estate is a challenge faced by companies in every industry,” says Yuehan Wang, Global Research Associate, Real Estate Technology at JLL. “Even large companies may lack a feasible technology strategy that addresses how to make procurement decisions, ensure the tech is correctly used by employees, and scale it across a portfolio.”

The number of companies adopting data science and modelling tools, which are used to analyze occupancy, energy use and financial costs across buildings and locations, for example, jumped by 14% to 40% between 2020 and 2023, JLL’s survey shows. 

Yet a lack of standardized data across smart building systems remains a stumbling block for many businesses.

To extract accurate insights about their real estate’s carbon footprint, companies need to merge information from various systems, from HVAC (heating, ventilation and cooling) to waste management. However, these systems are often siloed, making it difficult to integrate data, while companies may lack the tools or expertise to gather and analyze building data effectively.

“The hardest problem for real estate to overcome is the many data silos that must be integrated for buildings to operate efficiently, especially when some buildings may be 50 or 60 years old with outdated systems,” says Ravichandar.

Right now, AI is in its infancy in real estate, but as it continues to evolve, it will play an increasingly pivotal role in tackling the sizeable carbon footprint of real estate. Generative AI could catalyze the integration of sustainability technologies into both buildings and operational workflows, for example, by making these technologies more accessible through user-friendly interfaces that help people understand and engage with data insights.

This could accelerate the critical smart building transformation that underpins more sustainable real estate.

“In recent years, building owners have been experimenting with sensors, digital infrastructure and other smart tech. AI capabilities could bring about the tipping point by making it easier and more efficient to tap the benefits of these technologies,” says Wang.

This, in turn, would have big implications for the speed and scope of real estate’s decarbonization.

“Technology is, quite simply, core to real estate’s decarbonization,” says Ravichandar. “Today’s technology is already making a difference but as it develops and becomes integral to how buildings function, it will lower real estate’s emissions on a macro scale.”