JLL Canada, a leading professional services firm specialising in commercial real estate and investment management, announced today the establishment of the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability in Commercial Real Estate. This announcement marks a major step toward the company’s environmental goals, pushing best practices in sustainability, and encouraging the broader industry.
The company is dedicated to building the outline, collaborations, and skills required for R&D in sustainable solutions, as well as investing the necessary funds, with the goal of maximising the opportunities for Montréal and Québec.
Ivanhoé Cambridge, as a key partner in this launch, will aim to invest in the outgoing innovations that will be developed by this project.
This long-term commitment will allow for the advancement of homegrown talent as well as a clear vision of the future of sustainable growth in commercial real estate.
“At JLL, we are committed to world-class environmental, social, and governance performance; we have big ambitions, especially given that real estate accounts for 40% of global CO2 emissions; we need to do more, do better, and accelerate the discovery and adoption of the best solutions for application here in Canada and everywhere on the planet,” said Alan MacKenzie, CEO of JLL Canada.
In conjunction with university research teams, the Centre strives to accelerate the adoption of innovative processes, technologies, research concepts, and projects for application in the retail, industrial, office, and multi-family divisions of the commercial real estate sector. The operations of the Centre of Excellence will serve as a conduit for the rapid development of new research, ideas, startups, and scale-ups, with all efforts directed toward the ambitious net-zero carbon target for 2040. JLL predicts a massive economic effect with the Centre of Excellence, both locally, nationally, and even globally. The Centre will be fully functioning by January 2023 when it cranks up its activities.
“For our sector to thrive in moving real estate to a lower-carbon future, we must embrace innovation. Ivanhoé Cambridge is thrilled to be teaming with JLL to develop an unparalleled Centre of Excellence for Sustainability, a topic at the core of our future vision” Ivanhoé Cambridge Vice-President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Stéphane Villemain commented.
JLL’s presence in Québec is expanding, and the choice of Montréal as a base for the establishment of this R&D Centre reflects the company’s goal to establish a strong presence in the province. In addition to the beneficial relationship with Ivanhoé Cambridge, Montréal features one of the cleanest electrical networks in the world, a robust and rising CleanTech sector, and world-class academic institutions.
“Greater Montréal’s expertise is being acknowledged as lowering greenhouse gas emissions has become a major concern for residents and businesses worldwide. The ISSB’s (International Sustainability Standards Board) establishment, as well as JLL’s Centre of Excellence for Sustainability in Commercial Real Estate, are two examples. We are honoured, along with Ivanhoé Cambridge, to support projects that improve the local sustainable development ecosystem and the decarbonization of our buildings” Stéphane Paquet, President and CEO of Montréal International, added.
A net-zero carbon industry by 2040
JLL and its partners hope to be pioneers and accelerate the industry’s transition to net-zero carbon by 2040 through the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability in Real Estate. In order to do this, the Centre will conduct scientific research and experimental development to uncover, test, and share knowledge and best practices, as well as to assist the development of new technologies.
Following this inauguration, JLL announced the hiring of Hugues Delmaire and John Cigana, co-directors of the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability in Real Estate, two exceptional executives, to guide the ambitious destiny, establish collaborations, and assure the success of this major project.
“Sustainability in commercial real estate is a worldwide concern that can only be handled by collaboration and innovation; no one can do it individually. The Center of Excellence’s goal is to develop cooperation around new technologies and processes to influence the future of the real estate for a more sustainable world” Hugues Delmaire, co-director of the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability, underlined.
“Quebecers are born with an entrepreneurial spirit. The Centre of Excellence will bring together worldwide experience with local know-how and talent to change the world… one building at a time” according to John Cigana, co-director of the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability.
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