Tishman Speyer – Shui Cheong Spencer Liu – 2016

Goals 

Tishman Speyer, a global real estate owner, developer and operator, enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Spencer Liu to develop a 5-year sustainability reporting strategy. Spencer was also asked to provide insights on a number of the Global Sustainability team’s forward-looking initiatives, including identifying the emerging technologies for sustainable building design and construction, and setting up an indoor air quality measurement plan for the firm’s offices.

Solutions

Based on interviews with various sustainability reporting experts, benchmarking analyses, as well as feasibility studies on recommended measures, Spencer built a business case with a multi-phase, multi-stakeholder roadmap that would strengthen the firm’s reporting capabilities for increased transparency. The roadmap was then brought to internal senior management for syndication and alignment.

Spencer also created a database for sustainable building technologies and identified eight emerging technologies that could apply to the firm. Thinking ahead about future development projects, he conducted a high-level feasibility analysis with recommendations on each shortlisted technology for potential applications. Additionally, after evaluating indoor air quality measurement proposals from various vendors, Spencer recommended a sensor installation plan.

Potential Impact

If adopted, the 5-year sustainability reporting strategy could raise the firm’s degree of transparency to the public. The forward-looking initiatives can be used to influence the firm’s design decisions on sustainable buildings and indoor environmental quality. The sensor installation plan was adopted and sensor procurement and installation underway.