Creating Resilience
3 Tips for Marketing Sustainability in Commercial Real Estate
Sustainability in Property Marketing
Commercial property marketing has always evolved to meet tenant priorities, and today sustainability is top of mind for a broad swath of prospects. Per CBRE’s 2024 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey, 86% of large companies, and 57% of all companies surveyed, have publicly committed to net-zero emissions, with many setting a target date of 2030. While real estate has seen its share of trends, it’s clear that sustainability efforts are a business imperative and will be for years to come.So how can commercial real estate investors and sales professionals demonstrate sustainability initiatives that are easy to understand, and how do you market the value of sustainability to tenants? As both investors and occupiers develop their strategies, marketing can help transform complex strategies into simple narratives that showcase the benefits of sustainability initiatives at a property or project. To help you not only join but lead the conversation, here are three tips on addressing sustainability within your property marketing efforts:
3 Tips for Marketing Sustainability
-
Learn the Basics
Understand the fundamentals and vocabulary of sustainability -
Identity Overlaps
Find out how sustainability fits into your audiences’ goals -
Keep it Simple
Distill your message and keep it focused
It’s important to first learn the basics. Understanding each component of sustainability you may want to highlight—environmental impact, human impact and sustainable stewardship—will be fundamental to representing these values in your project and developing a holistic narrative. We’ve included some resources from our experts to get you started at the end of this article.
The complexity of sustainability and differing goals can become overwhelming, so we’ll focus on high level principles to keep things in perspective. For occupiers, sustainability concerns can span from energy, water and waste efficiency, to powering their space with renewable energy, to supply chain considerations. For investors, at the project level, considerations like onsite or offsite solar; vendor diversity and supply chain-related carbon emissions; embodied carbon; and compliance with jurisdictional regulations are at the forefront.
Just as every client is unique, so their sustainability strategies will be too. Understanding the sustainability goals of your client and target tenants will uncover which considerations should be prioritized in marketing efforts. Let’s explore the overlap between occupier and investor sustainability strategies from the perspective of a property, by exploring common interests for each aspect of sustainability.
Sustainable building performance is measurable and tangible. Certifications like LEED, Net Zero Energy or Zero Carbon are important features to highlight as the majority (55%) of respondents to CBRE's 2024 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey indicated that green certification status impacts their decision to occupy a building and what they are willing to pay. Both investor and occupier strategies may include clear targets around certifications, building performance standards or greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions—sometimes going beyond what is required by local code. Water conservation, circular economy approaches to reduce waste, and renewable energy are increasingly favored as rising resource costs drive the need for resilient and economical design systems.
Sustainability in the built environment makes space for the human element, too. Health and wellness initiatives demonstrate an organization’s commitment to sustainability as a benefit for people. Certifications like WELL or FitWel are a straightforward way to show how a building addresses physical and mental health. In addition, factors such as proximity to public transportation; programming and resources that highlight diverse perspectives and backgrounds; community programs; solar energy that also benefits the community; and inclusive building design can also be opportunities to share your social values. For a mixed-use project, you could also speak to affordable housing opportunities and programming such as farmer’s markets.
Finally, there’s sustainable stewardship. This focuses on good governance, transparency, accountability and ethical processes that adhere both to internal and external standards for all stakeholders. Policies and practices that guide operations, supplier programs, risk management, employee standards and other responsible business initiatives can all be included as part of this pillar.
Now that we’ve outlined how sustainability strategy applies to commercial real estate, you must tailor your message to your audience. Depending on the context, you may need to keep it high level or go into detail. Understanding the overlap between occupier and investor strategies will help clarify how to best market your sustainability efforts.
Now that you know what you’re saying and who you’re working to convince, it’s time for making the complex sound simple. You need to refine all you learned into a pithy, clear, and honest message. This is where the science of marketing ends and the art begins. There are a few good rules of thumb for distilling the value of a project. Cut out jargon. Avoid technical language and explain concepts in familiar terms. Use analogies. Remember that sustainability is about creating value for investors and occupiers in the near and long term. Keep that at the heart of your messaging strategy, ensuring that everything you say reinforces those goals.
It’s easier said than done, so in addition to our exploration of how CBRE Calibre Creative Group markets sustainability, let’s give a few examples here. Addressing sustainability in your property marketing might be as simple as adding a slide to a presentation deck or page to a brochure that outlines your project’s sustainability efforts. This can be bullets about certifications and alignment with building performance standards or an outline of vendor diversity considerations. Keep it to a few key points. To speak to an occupier’s sustainability strategy, you might include information in your materials about access to renewable energy, an increased pool of talent, or on-site spaces that tenants could use for their community programs. You can also express the project’s sustainability efforts visually. Create site plans or building diagrams that outline the positive impact, including reduced carbon emissions or other features of your project. You might leverage these proof points to develop email or social ad campaigns, explaining how your project can support occupiers' sustainability goals with short form video or engaging illustrations. As you can see, marketing sustainability can cumulatively build awareness about the value your project—and sustainability—delivers.
Steer the Conversation
The properties best positioned to deliver value over time are those prioritizing sustainability today, and your property marketing strategy should follow the same principles. Listen to and understand the goals, establish a shared vision among the stakeholders involved, and communicate that vision with clarity to a target audience. Clearly voicing your commitment to sustainability—and your ongoing progress to meet your sustainability goals—is an opportunity to establish your organization as a leading choice for occupiers who seek to do the same.
Resources
Let’s reimagine property marketing together.
CBRE Calibre Creative Group’s in-house team of industry leaders delivers award-winning, full-spectrum strategies that open new horizons in commercial real estate marketing.