5 ways that PropTech supports your sustainability goals

If you are a landlord, or a manager of commercial buildings, then you are probably asking yourself how you can achieve your sustainability goals.

If not, then you should be. As commercial real estate is a major contributor to carbon in the atmosphere and it’s an area that can do more.

One way it can achieve this is by embracing the possibilities of PropTech. Solutions that fall under this banner can help you set policies and reach targets that will reduce your properties’ overall environmental impact.

This article discusses some of the PropTech solutions that can fit into your overall sustainability strategy.

Before we go on, let’s look at just what PropTech is.

What is PropTech?

In short, PropTech is property technology which can be used to buy, sell, research, manage and market properties. When it comes to sustainability goals, this article is focussing on the PropTech involved with the management of properties.

Want a deeper dive on how employers are using software to fight climate change – check out this blog.

Here it is possible to make significant changes to how those using your properties interact with the associated infrastructure. For instance, you can use PropTech to set policies that encourage people to use public transport coming to those properties.

Likewise, you can use PropTech for the management of package deliveries and to ensure couriers only have to travel to one destination, rather than several. You can also interact with users and ensure that waste is minimized.

Value of PropTech

The real estate industry is responsible for around 40 percent of global carbon emissions. Thus, it is no surprise that those working within the property sector are expected to do what they can to reduce this number.

This was a point mentioned by Roger Bryant, an associate director in Savills building and project consultancy team, in a blog discussing the subject.

There are two ways of drastically reducing carbon: you either stop everything you’re doing, such as developing new buildings, travelling et cetera – or, you turn to new tech to help find a solution to the problem.

Roger Bryant, Associate Director, Savills

That really is the key to the issue; changes have to be made and because of the technology now available within the sector, those changes are more possible now than ever before.

5 ways PropTech can support sustainability

Helps management of facilities

PropTech can help with the overall management of facilities. One of the ways it can do this is through smart devices that help control energy usage.

The idea of ‘smart buildings’ fall under the PropTech banner. With smart buildings the likes of lighting, temperature, and ventilation can all be managed remotely based on the requirements of the building at any given time.

Discover how you drive greater efficiency with proptech technology. Check out this blog – Reduced costs to environmental benefits: how last mile automation can help your business

Puts sustainable policies in place

PropTech allows property managers and landlords to put sustainable policies in place for those who use their facilities. Take the parking lot for example. They can use PropTech solution Wayleadr to restrict available visitor parking during the hours when public transport is available.

They can also use Wayleadr to put a booking system in place for both parking and EV charging facilities. The former leads to less driving, as people don’t arrive to a car lot that’s already full. The latter would lead to happier tenants, but also tenants knowing they have proper and convenient facilities to switch from fossil fuel cars to electric ones.

Looking to learn more about the future of sustainable travel commuting? Check out this blog – How last mile automation can change driving culture at your workplace.

Better data means better policies

One of the most valuable tools that PropTech arms people with is an abundance of data. And with data, your decisions can become more sustainable. For instance, you can use data from Wayleadr to see when the your buildings have the largest number of visitors.

With this, you can set your energy targets, using utilities during busy hours, but reducing them when the building is empty, or less populated.

Gets tenants on-board

PropTech has made tenant engagement and communication a doddle. With it, your tenants can file for repair and maintenance requests. You can also use technology to help them get on board with sustainability issues.

For instance, you can communicate incentives and competitions for the ‘greenest office’ in a building and use data, such as how many people are driving to the office, to measure the competition.

In the end, the list of ways PropTech can help you and your properties become greener is endless. For more information on how Wayleadr can help you with these goals, simply click below.