Abundance Blog
News and ideas from Paladino's team of industry leaders.
Are you ready for DC's new net zero energy goals?
In September 2018, Mayor Bowser announced that the City of DC is targeting new and ambitious energy goals as part of Sustainable DC 2.0 during the Global Climate Action Summit 2018. Sustainable DC 2.0 is a five-year update to the…
Why an e-book about master planning is a must-read right now
A master plan is an investment in the future. A master plan used to serve as the ‘blueprint’ for a project, outlining the boundaries, roads, and buildings. Title blocks neatly identified elements like “movie theater’ and ‘parking garage’ and sweeping…
Sustainable Construction: An interview with Laura Soma of GLY Construction
You’ve heard the stat by now: buildings account for 39% of overall carbon emissions, which is why cities and states are implementing sustainability ordinances nationwide that address resilience, human wellness, and environmental responsibility. And those ordinances are bringing the GCs…
LEED ND? WELL? LCC? Choose the right master plan certification standard
Creating a high-quality master plan that is back-checked through certification is a powerful way to set master plan aspirations and set the development up for long-term success. Certification brings several advantages to a master plan, not the least of which…
Seattle sweetens the deal for Living Buildings with the 2030 Challenge Pilot Program
Two living buildings have been successfully certified in Seattle, with others achieving various petals. And while the Living Future Institute has made impressive strides in educating the real estate community about the importance of its ambitious targets, the market has…
Vertical gardens: Wellness oases in the urban jungle
By Kim Pexton
Experts in the emerging field of biophilic design are finding that that people need regular contact with nature to be happy and whole. For those who live and work in cities, the concrete, glass towers, smog, and noise can drastically…
The shopping mall value chain - fixing its weakest links
By Tom Paladino
US shopping mall owners are starting to report their Q1 results, and they paint a complicated picture for the changing brick and mortar retail landscape. While mid-market stores like Bon-Ton and Toys R Us are filing for bankruptcy, retail purchases…
Five changes to GRESB that every participating company should know about
In 2017, 850 property companies and funds, jointly representing more than $3.7T in assets under management, participated in the GRESB Real Estate Assessment. And more than 70 institutional and retail investors use GRESB data and analytical tools to engage with…
Earth Day is April 22, let’s end plastic waste together
Single-use plastics—food packaging, shopping bags, drinking straws, beverage containers, etc.—constitute 88,000 tons of plastic thrown away in the United States every day, and outnumbers sea life 6 to 1. Single-use plastics drastically increase the plastic pollution that is polluting our…
LEED v4.1 — a game changer or business as usual?
By Kim Pexton
Feeling like you’re just settling in to LEED v4? It’s hard to believe that It’s been four years since the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released LEED v4, and now, LEED v4.1, announced last November at Greenbuild, will be released…