Sustainable Real Estate Systems

How Buildings, Energy, Finance, Policy, and Technology Shape the Built Environment

Course Description

This course provides a comprehensive, systems-level understanding of sustainable real estate development and operations. It moves beyond checklists and certifications to examine how buildings actually perform across energy, water, materials, indoor environmental quality, sites, transportation, technology, and policy.

Participants learn how sustainability functions as an operating system for real assets, shaping long-term value, risk, compliance, and resilience. The course integrates global frameworks, U.S. and city-level policies, green building standards, emerging technologies, and AI-enabled tools to help professionals evaluate projects holistically across the full real estate lifecycle.

Designed for developers, investors, asset managers, planners, consultants, and public-sector leaders, the course emphasizes practical decision-making. It equips participants to assess trade-offs, avoid greenwashing, align projects with regulatory and market realities, and design strategies that hold up under financial, operational, and climate stress.

This is not a marketing course on sustainability. It is a strategic and analytical course for people who need to make real decisions about real buildings.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Understand sustainability as a systems framework that integrates buildings, infrastructure, policy, finance, and human outcomes rather than as a set of isolated environmental features.
Evaluate real estate projects using integrated lenses of energy, water, materials, indoor environmental quality, sites, transportation, and governance to identify performance risks and opportunities.
Interpret and apply major green building standards and certifications, including LEED and related asset- and material-level systems, while recognizing their limits and potential for misuse.
Analyze how energy systems, grid dynamics, financing tools, and incentives shape development feasibility, operating costs, and long-term asset value.
Assess site and transportation decisions for their impacts on emissions, resilience, health, equity, and regulatory exposure.
Understand how AI and digital tools are being used across design, construction, operations, reporting, and optimization in sustainable real estate.
Navigate global, national, and local policy environments and anticipate how regulatory shifts influence development strategy and portfolio risk.
Distinguish between credible sustainability strategies and greenwashing through evidence-based evaluation and performance metrics.
Develop a coherent sustainability strategy that aligns environmental performance with financial discipline, regulatory compliance, and long-term asset resilience.

Course Curriculum

1. WEMIST & GNLI: Frameworks for Sustainable Real Estate
2. Sustainability and Sustainable Development
3. Introduction to Green Building
1. LEED and its Rating Systems
2. LEED MPR and Credit Categories
3. ASHRAE Standards in LEED
4. Understanding and Applying Baselines in LEED
5. LEED Compliance: Prescriptive vs. Performance Paths
6. From Strategy to Submission
7. LEED for People: Credentials and Career Paths
1. Greenwashing and Certifications
2. Basics of Energy Efficiency
3. Material Level Certifications
4. GBCI's Asset Level Certifications
5. Additional Asset Level Certifications
6. Firm Level Certifications
7. Assessment Methodologies
1. Why Water Matters
2. Tracking Water
3. Indoor Water Use
4. Outdoor Water Use
5. Rainwater, Stormwater, and Cistern Systems
6. Recycled Water and the Water-Energy Nexus
7. Cooling Towers
8. Water Risk and Subsidence
9. Ecological Infrastructure
1. Electricity and the Grid
2. Non-Renewable Energy Sources
3. Renewable Energy Sources
4. Emerging Energy Sources
5. Grid Support Systems
6. Green Financing Tools
7. Incentives and Credits
1. Introduction to Materials and Resource Sustainability
2. Sustainable Purchasing and Material Transparency
3. Life-Cycle Thinking and Building Reuse
4. Waste Hierarchy and Construction Waste Management
5. Operational Waste: Diversion, Sorting, and Reporting
6. Composting, Organics, and Circular Systems
7. Furniture, Interiors, and Fit-Out Sustainability
8. Hazardous and Universal Waste Management
9. Leadership, Training, and Supply Chain Engagement
10. Innovation, Closed Loop, and the Future of Materials
1. Foundations of Indoor Environmental Quality
2. Indoor Air Quality – Baselines and Ventilation
3. Enhanced IAQ Strategies and Air Monitoring
4. Source Control – Combustion, Smoking, and Pollutants
5. Low-Emitting Materials and Construction IAQ
6. Green Cleaning and Operations
7. Lighting Quality and Daylight Access
8. Acoustic Comfort and Noise Control
9. Thermal Comfort and Personalization
10. Health Feedback Loops and IEQ Governance
1. Sustainable Sites Overview
2. Site Assessment and Design Integration
3. Pollution and Erosion Control During Construction
4. Habitat Preservation and Open Space Design
5. Rainwater and Stormwater Management
6. Heat Island Mitigation and Light Pollution Reduction
7. Long-Term Site Planning and Management
8. Social Infrastructure and Human Health
9. Integrated Pest Management, Invasive Species, and Non-Toxic Practices
10. Innovation, Resilience, and Future Directions in Sustainable Sites
1. Strategic Site Placement – Choosing Where to Build
2. Density, Diversity, and Daily Needs
3. Transit Access and Regional Connectivity
4. Infill, Brownfields, and High-Priority Locations
5. Bicycle Infrastructure and Active Mobility
6. Parking Management for Location Efficiency
7. Future Mobility – Green Vehicles and Electric Readiness
1. The Rise of AI in the Built Environment
2. AI In Construction and Operations
3. AI for Reporting and Adaptive Optimization
1. Innovative Technologies in Sustainable Development
2. 3D Printing and Modular Construction
3. Biophilic Design and Regenerative Architecture
1. Global Frameworks and National Policies
2. US Energy Policies
3. NYC - OneNYC and Affordable Housing
4. NYC - Local Laws

$199.00
80 lessons
9 hours of video content

Who Should Enroll

This course is designed for professionals who make, influence, or advise on real estate and infrastructure decisions and need a rigorous, systems-level understanding of sustainability.

It is well suited for developers, owners, investors, and asset managers responsible for long-term asset performance and regulatory exposure. It is also relevant for planners, architects, engineers, consultants, and sustainability professionals who need to connect technical strategies to financial and policy realities.

Public-sector leaders, policymakers, and regulators working on land use, housing, energy, and climate initiatives will benefit from the integrated view of buildings, infrastructure, and governance. The course is equally valuable for professionals transitioning into sustainability-focused roles who want a grounded, non-ideological framework rather than surface-level credentials.

This is not an introductory awareness course. It is intended for participants who want to think clearly, ask better questions, and make defensible decisions in complex, real-world contexts.

Format

The course is delivered as a structured on-demand video series supported by written transcripts for reference, accessibility, and deeper analysis.

Content is organized into thematic modules that move from foundational frameworks to applied topics including certifications, energy systems, water, materials, indoor environmental quality, sites, transportation, technology, and policy. Each module is designed to be concise, cumulative, and usable in professional practice.

Participants can move through the material at their own pace and revisit sessions as needed. The format is designed to support both focused learning and long-term reference, making the course useful during active projects as well as for strategic planning and professional development.