Sustainability in Third-Party Managed Properties

Abstract

The Master’s project “Sustainability in Third-Party Managed Properties” is a continuation of its predecessor project titled “Developing a Strategic Framework for Sustainability Investments in Real Estate”. The client, Drucker and Falk (D&F) is a real estate management company that focuses on third-party fee-based management of multifamily residential properties. D&F has continued to work with Master’s students at the Nicholas School of the Environment so that it can identify avenues where the company can increase its sustainability. Specifically, D&F asked the current team to identify landscaping practices which would reduce the company’s environmental footprint and ensure that D&F’s contractors were also engaged in similar sustainable practices while they were working on properties managed by the company. The goal of this year’s project is produce a comprehensive contract which D&F can utilize to implement the sustainable practices recommended by this year's team. These practices pertain to the usage of pesticides, choice of flora on D&F's properties, and efficient water management. Additionally, an iOS app, based on the Android app developed by the previous years team, was created to better track and understand energy usage in the common areas of D&F properties.