Apartment residents remain concerned about the environment and are committed to making lifestyle choices to reduce their carbon footprint, according to a new survey from AMLI, a real estate development company that focuses on sustainability. The survey showed that 84% of respondents “believe in” global warming or climate change.
AMLI’s findings differ from results of another survey, Yale Program on Climate Change Communications, which was released in 2017. That study found that 70% of Americans believe global warming is happening. This may indicate that apartment residents who seek out sustainable housing are more likely than the general population to be environmentally mindful.
The survey also found that 83% of respondents believe that living in a green community is beneficial to their health, and 59% said they would pay more to live in such an environment.
AMLI owns and manages 61 properties throughout the US and focuses on the development, construction and management of environmentally responsible apartment communities. The company says that nearly half of its properties are LEED certified, and 25 AMLI communities are Energy Star certified. The company aims to have more than 50% LEED certified properties by 2019.
AMLI is not alone in its drive toward sustainability. Real estate funds, companies and developers including AMLI are increasingly reporting on their ESG performance, according to the recently-released Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). The number of companies reporting in 2018 was more than double that of 2017, and the global average GRESB Score increased again.
The sector achieved a 4.9% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions year-on-year, accounting for Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions (associated with tenant operations). In addition, 2018 saw a 2.5% average reduction in energy consumption and a 0.5% decrease in water consumption globally.