As real estate business consumes massive amounts of energy and produce tons of waste, it has a major impact on the ecosystem. To mirror customer concerns about environmental issues, reduce pollution, and cut costs, more and more European property owners are adopting sustainable strategies. Not sure what practices will work best for your business? For just this purpose, we rounded up the best 10 environmental practices for property owners that are good for both the planet and your profits.
The best way to truly understand your current state is to conduct an environmental audit. Once you know your energy consumption patterns, you’ll be able to identify problems, set achievable goals, and choose the environmental practices that work best for you. While conducting an audit, it is worthwhile to also look into different ESG certifications available, since you might be eligible for those.
This is a low cost, high-impact practice that will help you save money and reduce maintenance. LED light bulbs use about 25 to 85% less energy than traditional bulbs, and can last 3 to 25 times longer.
Vast majority of European hoteliers are already on board with this practice, according to our research. You’ll save water, detergent, and energy when you give your guests the option to reuse their towels and linens. To let your guests know how they can get involved, place water saving information cards in your rooms.
Most residential properties today have fully equipped bathrooms and kitchens. From laundry and dishwashing to room cleaning, there's no denying residential buildings consume a lot of water. To help reduce your impact on the environment and cut operational costs, replace old washing machines and dishwashers with energy and water saving models. Find low consumption machines that are made of recyclable materials and are built to last.
Technology makes it easy for property owners to reduce their paper consumption. With a cloud-based building management system, you can manage all aspects of your property in one central location—no printing required
Adopting a green purchasing policy means taking environmental, social, and
ethical considerations into account for every decision you make. It involves choosing products and services that have a reduced impact on the environment. You’ll avoid products containing toxic substances, consider whether the products can be recycled, and choose energy efficient and Fairtrade products.
Tenants of large residential properties and hotel guests generate massive amounts of waste. Developing a strong waste management and recycling program (including composting) is thus one of the top environmental practices for property owners. To get your tenants or guests involved, provide recycling instructions in rooms and place recycling bins in convenient locations throughout your property.
The more aware and involved your employees are, the easier it will be to manage your green initiatives. Have your staff attend courses on green management and environmentally friendly practices so they can appreciate the crucial role they play.
Energy is one of the largest operating expenses for majority of real estate. Plenty
of tools exist to help you boost energy efficiency, but automatic energy consumption monitoring is the foundation you need to catch problems early and track your improvements. Investing in different EMS/BMS systems like the one's our partners provide can make a vast improvement on your energy bill. Same holds true for water monitoring, as heating water and its consumption contributes heavily towards energy consumption. Different Smartvatten solutions for Real Estate can help you monitor and take actions to mitigate this water consumption.
Even a small plumbing leak can cause irreversible damage and cost thousands of
euros to fix. Most property owners rely on manual water readings, which are often inaccurate and infrequent. Plus, they don’t catch leaks in time. Smart leak detection devices like Smartvatten, however, continuously monitor your water consumption so you can catch leaks as soon as they occur.
To learn more about our remote monitoring service, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!
Related articles
See all articlesWhen Water Is No Longer Guaranteed: Why SDG 6.4.2 Matters More Than We Think
Smartvatten 2025: End of year article
Green Buildings: Why water efficiency is gaining greater importance in sustainable construction?
BREEAM water requirements: How to earn certification points with water management and leak detection
Saving water saves energy: time to rethink water as an energy-conserving method
Integrated Insight for Smarter Sustainability
