It’s a golden age for the green building certification and ratings world. The number of companies buying green certifications from organisations like BREEAM and LEED or sustainability ratings from GRESB is booming. As sustainability moves front and centre for real estate, certifications are creating billions of dollars in value as investors and lenders increasingly target the greenest buildings and companies. There’s just one problem: These certifications aren’t helping real estate cut carbon. 
“I’ve got a short and simple message: The system is wrong, and we need to change it quickly,” Edge Technologies CEO Coen van Oostrom said. “It is taking a lot of effort away from the things that are really important.” Green building certifications could be a vital tool in helping an industry accounting for up to 40% of global carbon emissions to cut back. Done right, certifications could help investors, developers and lenders traverse a complex and highly technical path, ensuring they put their money where it can have the most impact in cutting carbon. But in its current form, the system is not helping the industry hit decarbonisation targets. It may even be hindering the fight against the climate crisis, investors and sustainability experts told Bisnow. Read the full story here | 
