Elena Alschuler, head of sustainability, Americas at JLL Income Property Trust, Inc. ,and this year’s winner of Nareit’s Industry Impact individual award, sat down for a video interview at Nareit’s REITworks: 2024 Sustainability & Social Responsibility Conference, held in McLean, Virginia from Sept. 10-12.
Alschuler emphasized the importance of building a sustainable future by creating transparent, standardized frameworks within the real estate industry. She highlighted efforts made to address both physical and transitional climate risks, key factors in JLL's sustainable strategy.
Alschuler explained that her team’s work has primarily focused on understanding the long-term performance of their properties by examining utility consumption, climate risks, and regulatory compliance.
“We’re all trying to solve this problem, and so there’s a lot of benefit to transparency,” Alschuler said, pointing to the need for clear methodologies that the industry can use collectively to make more informed decisions. She emphasized the value of “standard methodologies or shared definitions for things” to create benchmarks that allow for fair comparisons.
Looking ahead to 2025, Alschuler discussed JLL’s commitment to on-site solar projects and preparation for incoming building performance standards to avoid future regulatory penalties.
“We want to get ahead of that and have a building that’s really future-proofed,” she explained, signaling JLL's proactive stance in meeting sustainability challenges head-on.