CREJ - Property Management Quarterly - January 2018
Most real estate managers already have practices to deal with current climate variations, such as plans for snow and ice removal, severe weather shelters, and climate control features for indoor and outdoor workers. However, when looking at the future impacts of climate variations, facility owners cannot simply rely on the assumptions that climate will remain consistent. It is important that owners and facility managers work together to prepare for resiliency and adaptation to climate change. There is a shift in the way real estate managers should begin to prepare and plan for effective adaptation to the long-term effects of climate change. While the focus was once on a reactive approach to climate related issues for facilities, building resiliency is a more proactive process that takes into consideration the various roles managers and owners play and how they work together for the short- and long-term strategies for a property. Both parties take on separate roles when it comes to preparations, but they must work together to ensure success. Facility managers will be impacted by the day-to-day challenges that climate variations pose. For example, facility managers must budget for things like salt and snow removal and will need to change their approach as climate fluctuations occur. Expected weather patterns and established “climate norms” are changing year after year, driving the need for updates to plans and processes. Managers are tasked with ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently surrounding the infrastructure and the short-term weather problems that occur. While property managers look at the near-term effects, property owners are faced with the long-term implications of climate variation. Owners should be focused more toward building resiliency throughout their commercial real estate assets. Their first responsibility is to protect the value of their investment, so they must ensure their building design can withstand the projected climate threats that are coming toward their region. For example, instead of sizing air-conditioning units to handle current average summer temperatures, it could be beneficial to assess the threat posed by increasing average or maximum high temperatures driven by climate change. Owners should be looking ahead to see if there are long-term solutions to apply to design of their infrastructure to better prepare for the coming years.
So how do the two levels effectively work together? It all starts with a simple conversation. Both owners and managers have roles that complement each other and are important for the success of real estate properties. The first step in developing a planning process is to come together and identify key stakeholders throughout the organization to make the planning process more effective and ensure there aren’t any crucial parts left out. There isn’t one person who has full knowledge of the workings of an entire building. After key stakeholders are identified, the next step is to establish a climate baseline and develop a projection scenario to inform the risk assessment process. Climate change models vary in scale and scope, and the challenge lies in downscaling the model outputs to a regional, local or facility-specific level. Likewise, varying emissions scenarios play a role in the timing and severity of projected climate threats. Blending these model outputs with additional analysis creates a clear picture of what can be expected, which allows for a more focused risk assessment process. Effectively communicating these future climate scenarios to your key stakeholders should be a priority. Once everyone is on the same page regarding expected threats, it becomes easier to quickly identify the biggest threats, potential opportunities and priorities for building resiliency. It is important to identify assets and prioritize them in order of adaptive capacity and determine if they pose a long-term or short-term threat. Conducting a risk assessment is a critical process through which owners and managers identify the impacts and risks of climate change for their building, and how it might impact their critical assets. The goal is to understand how changes in a specific climate variable will impact key assets and building systems and proactively plan for ways to mitigate potential harm. Developing a strategic planning process and identifying best practices surrounding how real estate managers and owners can work together to ensure success is crucial when it comes to the impacts of climate variations. Both roles complement one another and are necessary to find a successful approach to protecting assets and real estate. Enhancing common practices most organizations already have in place that deal with current climate variations will help develop a long-term scope to ensure everyone is prepared moving forward.