The commercial real estate industry has pushed toward sustainability for years, but the upcoming presidential election could determine whether those efforts get a shot in the arm or continue piecemeal.
If President Donald Trump stays in office, it would likely mean four more years of local decision-making power and limited environmental regulations. If former Vice President Joe Biden wins the White House in November and his aggressive sustainability platform is adopted, it would mean retrofitting 4 million buildings across the country, creating thousands of CRE jobs in the process.
Some in the industry view added environmental regulations as a headache or governmental overreach, but the push could be well-timed: The nature of the office and building design are already going through pandemic-fueled upheavals.
“This is a time where a lot of owners and tenants are rethinking their needs for the near term and the long term. It's really an opportunity for commercial real estate to reinvent itself,” said Elizabeth Beardsley, the senior policy counsel for the U.S. Green Building Council. “It's going to…
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