Synapse: This Week's News for LA’s Best Buildings
The Convergence of Sustainability and Resilience
“You cannot manage what you do not measure.” It’s a common adage in business, one you’ve likely heard time and time again if like me you are knee-deep in the world of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting for commercial real estate. The phrase is often invoked to refer to the need for real estate owners, managers and developers to benchmark and disclose building sustainability performance for investors, who are increasingly waking up to the pivotal role that the built environment plays in addressing the climate crisis.
U.S., Other Countries Deepen Climate Goals at Earth Day Summit
The United States and other countries hiked their targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions at a global climate summit hosted by President Joe Biden, an event meant to resurrect U.S. leadership in the fight against global warming.
Biden Wants to Slash Emissions. Success Would Mean a Very Different America.
Hitting the targets could require a rapid shift to electric vehicles, the expansion of forests nationwide, development of complex new carbon-capture technology and many other changes, researchers said.
The Pandemic Remade Every Corner of Society. Now It's the Climate's Turn
n her third day as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Marcia Fudge phoned the White House. She had taken over an agency with a role to play addressing a range of crises as the lack of affordable housing in U.S. cities has left hundreds of thousands homeless and millions more in financial straits. She connected with Joe Biden’s climate team. Fudge and Gina McCarthy, Biden’s national climate adviser, talked about addressing climate change and the affordable-housing shortage at the same time. Three weeks later, the Administration announced plans to provide for more than 1 million resilient and energy-efficient housing units. “People are actually, from every agency, knocking on our doors,” says McCarthy, “wondering how they can be part of what is essentially a hopeful future.”
The Innovators: REĀL Founder Ada Arevalo
Los Angeles County is 48.6% Hispanic or Latinx, the U.S. census says, and statewide, nearly 40% of residents are Latinx, but often throughout her career in commercial real estate in Southern California, Ada Arevalo found herself to be the only Latina in the room.
Earth, Appreciated
Our planet is a wonder, a perfectly improbable incubator for life. It’s also in danger because of our indifference. This TED playlist provides reflections on both those truths.
