The Value Proposition of Sustainability: It's in the Eye of the Beholder (Insider's PERSPECTIVE‪)‬

INTRODUCTION BEFORE THE FIRST DIME IS COMMITTED TO A SUSTAINABILITY initiative, the spender has already determined a priority lens through which "value" will be judged. Real estate is a dynamic asset with multiple stakeholders, investor/owners, tenants and employees as well as the communities in which the real estate is located. This means there will surely be multiple definitions of sustainability representing varied elements and prioritization of the value derived thereof. Sustainability, as an overarching concept, is easy enough to understand--keep the focus on boosting efficiency in the use of materials and operations that constitute a real estate asset. From this basic premise, however, have emerged a variety of views as to priority, necessity and value of certain sustainability actions.