NEW YORK, February 2, 2012 – The NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate’s Center for the Sustainable Built Environment (scps.nyu.edu/sbe) will host its second Annual Conference on Sustainable Real Estate, titled “Energy Performance, Risk, and Real Estate Capital Markets: Searching for Common Metrics,” on Thursday, February 23.
The Conference, which will take place at the New York University Kimmel Center, is expected to draw hundreds of industry professionals, government officials, and academics. It will investigate topics such as the growing significance of energy performance and carbon emissions in real estate investments as well as the importance of data and information in scaling up energy efficiency initiatives.
Leaders from the private, public, and academic sectors will discuss the emerging debt and equity markets for commercial building energy efficiency, the role of data and information technology in decision making, and the need for common performance metrics that cross disciplinary and professional boundaries.
“There are many unresolved questions about how best to collect, disseminate, analyze, and operationalize energy performance data to expand energy efficiency markets in the built environment,” said Conference Chair Dr. Constantine E. Kontokosta, P.E., director of the NYU Schack Center for the Sustainable Built Environment. “At the Conference, we are gathering leaders in the field to discuss what has worked, what needs to be done, and how best to develop common standards and metrics that can be effectively understood by all of the disciplines that have a hand in determining the future of energy efficiency in our cities.”
The Conference co-chairs include Relina Bulchandani, director of Connected Real Estate, Cisco; Susan Leeds, chief executive officer, New York City Energy Efficiency Corp.; and Charles B. Leitner III, president and chief executive officer, Greenprint Foundation, and chairman, RREEF Real Estate.
The Conference will feature four panels:
- Panel 1: “Public Policy, Transparency, and Energy Performance” – Moderated by NYC Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability’s Laurie Kerr, the panel includes: ConEdison’s Rebecca Craft, University of Pennsylvania’s Dr. Mark Alan Hughes, Institute for Market Transformation’s Cliff Majersik, and New York State Department of State’s Ron Piester.
- Panel 2: “Open Data and the Role of Information Technology” – Moderated by Cisco Systems, Inc.’s Relina Bulchandani, the panel includes: Rudin Management Company, Inc.’s John J. Gilbert III, Jones Lang LaSalle’s Peter Miscovich, and IBM Global Business Services’ Joe Phillips.
- Panel 3: “Financing Building Energy Efficiency - Overcoming Uncertainty” – Moderated by New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation’s Susan Leeds, the panel includes: Fannie Mae’s Caroline Blakely, National Resources Defense Council’s Greg Hale, Cushman & Wakefield’s Theddi Wright Chappell, and Transcend Equity’s Sean Neill.
- Panel 4: “Investment Performance and Energy Performance – Is There a Link?” – Moderated Greenprint Foundation and RREEF Real Estate’s Chuck Leitner, the panel includes: The Related Companies’ Jeff Brodsky and Vornado Realty Trust’s David Greenbaum
For more information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jessica Estrada-Watson at jessica.watson@nyu.edu.
Registration for the Conference is now open. To view the complete agenda or to register, visit www.scps.nyu.edu/sbeconference.