EDITED BOOK - CALL FOR CHAPTERS
Sustainable Real Estate: Multidisciplinary Approaches to an Evolving System


EDITORS
Dr. Thomas Walker, David O’Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise, Canada
Cary Krosinsky, Brown and Yale Universities, United States
Lisa N Hasan, David O’Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise, Canada
Stefanie D. Kibsey, David O’Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise, Canada


IMPORTANT DATES
Chapter Proposal Submission Deadline: January 27th, 2017
Full Chapters due: May 19th, 2017
Submission of Final Chapters to Editor: September 1st, 2017


INTRODUCTION
Over the past few decades, the growing interest in green buildings has ushered in a new wave of green building materials and assemblies, certifications and labelling programs, design and simulation tools as well as federal and municipal regulations, green investment vehicles and marketing strategies. Staying abreast of all of these changes is challenging and understanding their implications for the industry, and its wide variety of stakeholders, is an even more daunting task.

Our book aims to provide a solution to this pressing problem. By collecting the latest insights from all major stakeholder groups in a single volume, we aim to provide the reader with a greater appreciation of sustainable real estate as a grand system. This broader definition of sustainable real estate, in line with the latest industry trends, research and the Paris Climate Agreements (COP21), encompasses existing and new buildings throughout their lifecycle, the financing of their development and operations, and their impact on the surrounding environments and communities. This broader perspective will provide the reader with a better understanding of the interconnected nature of the environmental, societal, communal, political, and financial issues and the wide-ranging impact of their decisions on the sustainable real estate system. Knowledge that should help the wide range of stakeholders work together more effectively to solve some of the most pressing problems in the real estate landscape today.

This book, with the help of your invaluable contributions, aims to present a comprehensive portrait of sustainable real estate and its associated challenges and appropriately address a number of multidisciplinary topics often overlooked by publications that have a narrower definition of sustainability or a more focused target audience. We hope to shed some light on new opportunities and innovative transdisciplinary collaborative solutions to as of yet unresolved problems. Pertinent examples of sustainable real estate approaches having practical value in terms of helping in the implementation of various sustainable strategies by owners, regulators and financial markets in different socio-political contexts will be of particular interest. We encourage contributions that reflect cutting edge research and the latest trends in the transition towards a more holistic approach to sustainability in the built environment.


TARGET AUDIENCE
Academics, researchers, practitioners, students, advocacy groups and the general public interested in sustainability issues in the spheres of urban planning, architecture, building science, urban studies, management, public administration, economics, real-estate development, public policy and law.


 
RECOMMENDED TOPICS
The topics identified below provide the overall scope of topics we expect to explore in this publication. We are open to receiving submissions covering other issues pertaining to multidisciplinary challenges and solutions in sustainable real estate.

1. Global approaches to sustainable real estate
1.1. Europe
1.2. North-America
1.3. Asia
1.4. Australia and New Zealand

2. Benefits of building sustainably
2.1. Environmental
2.2. Communal/social
2.3. Financial
2.3.1. Volatility of real estate returns
2.3.2. Value of “going green”
2.3.3. Sustainability, the new status quo

3. Main sustainability issues
3.1. Energy management
3.2. Water management
3.3. Greenhouse gas emissions
3.4. Lifecycle impacts
3.4.1. Product sustainability
3.5. Environmental impacts/risks
3.5.1. Climate change adaptability of buildings
3.6. Social impacts
3.6.1. Affordability
3.6.2. Community/neighbourhood development
3.7. Occupant health and productivity
3.7.1. Indoor air quality
3.7.2. Productivity
3.7.3. Indoor environmental control
3.8. Owner/tenant alignment
3.8.1. Education
3.8.2. Monitoring
3.9. Ethics and transparency

4. Regulatory trends
4.1. Zoning
4.2. Building codes
4.3. Mandatory disclosure and integrated reporting

5. Benchmarking
5.1. Green building & labelling programs
5.2. GRESB

6. Sustainability going forward
6.1. Assessment of the efficacy of current benchmarking
6.1.1. Analysis of current certification systems
6.1.1.1. Identification of most relevant measures
6.1.2. Recommendations
6.1.2.1. How to improve effectiveness of green certification and labelling tools
6.1.2.2. How to promote wider adoption of benchmarking systems
6.1.2.3. How to harmonize benchmarking tools to allow for ease of comparison
6.1.2.4. How to ensure green designs translate into green operations
6.2. New versus existing building stock
6.2.1. Implications of improving sustainability of existing buildings versus new construction
6.2.2. Deep retrofits and recommissioning
6.3. Regional challenges
6.3.1. Net-zero energy buildings
6.3.1.1. In low-energy cost regions
6.3.1.2. In colder climates
6.3.1.3. In remote locations

7. Impacts on the construction industry
7.1. Asset owners
7.1.1. Managing real estate portfolios sustainably
7.2. Developers
7.2.1. Cost/benefit analysis of construction methods and materials
7.3. Architects and engineers
7.3.1. Cost/benefit analysis of construction methods and materials
7.3.2. Cost/benefit analysis of communal and societal costs of development and major retrofits
7.3.3. Increasing regionalization/specialization of architects/engineers
7.3.3.1. Using local, renewable resources
7.3.3.2. No one size fits all construction methods
7.3.4. New construction materials, methods and systems
7.4. Trades and construction workers
7.4.1. New construction techniques
7.4.2. Increased skilled and specialized expertise required
7.4.3. End of certain trades
7.4.4. Shortages of skilled labour in certain trades
7.5. Financing
7.5.1. Favourable financing for green buildings
7.5.2. Tax incentives
7.5.2.1. Carbon tax and the built environment
7.6. Construction contracts
7.6.1. Design-build-operate and other innovative contract arrangements
7.6.2. Performance based professional fee structures
7.6.3. Building system operation education as part of standard project delivery
7.6.4. Sustainability of lowest-bidder procurement process

8. Sustainable community development
8.1. Life/work arrangements

9. Policy recommendations, best practices, case studies
9.1. Zoning
9.2. Building codes
9.3. Fiscal measures

 
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
Interested authors, researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before January 27th, 2017, a 1000 word maximum chapter proposal in MS-Word or PDF format, clearly describing the content of the proposed chapter and identifying the stakeholders involved in the multidisciplinary approach to be discussed.

Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by February 17th, 2017 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. There are no submission or acceptance fees for submitted manuscripts. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by May 19th 2017. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.

Submissions should be written in a non-technical writing style to allow for widespread application. Submitted chapters should be original and exclusively prepared for the present book. No part of the article should be published elsewhere. Chapters must not exceed 7000 words (including all references, appendices, biographies, etc.), must use 1.5 line spacing and 12 pt. Times New Roman font, and must use the APA 6th edition reference style.

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit abstracts, together with a CV, to:

Sustainable.Real.Estate@concordia.ca by January 27th, 2017


PUBLISHER
This book is scheduled to be published by Palgrave Macmillan. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.palgrave.com. This publication is anticipated to be released in early 2018.


IMPORTANT DATES
Chapter Proposal Submission Deadline: January 27th, 2017
Date for Chapter Acceptance: February 17th, 2017
Full Chapters due: May 19th, 2017
Review Results to Chapter Authors: June 30th, 2017
Revised Chapter Submission from Chapter Authors: July 28th, 2017
Final Acceptance Notifications to Chapter Authors: August 18th, 2017
Submission of Final Chapters to Editor: September 1st, 2017


 
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Dr. Thomas Walker is a native of Germany. He received a Ph.D. degree in Finance and an MBA degree in Finance and International Business from Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman. Dr. Walker joined Concordia University in 2001. Prior to his academic career, he worked for several years in the German consulting and industrial sector at such firms as Mercedes Benz, Utility Consultants International, Lahmeyer International, Telenet, andKPMG Peat Marwick. He is an expert in sustainable investing, sustainability & climate change, corporate governance, risk management, catastrophe insurance, IPO underpricing, securities regulation and litigation, institutional ownership, and insider trading. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles and five book chapters, and has been an active reviewer for well over 40 articles. In February 2015, Dr. Walker was appointed as Interim Director of the David O’Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise. In addition, as of July 2016, he serves as associate dean, research and research programs Among other things, he has served as Laurentian Bank Professor in Integrated Risk Management (2010-2015), chair of the finance department (2011-2014), on the steering committee of the Montreal chapter of the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA), and as member of Concordia’s senate finance committee.

Cary Krosinsky is Executive Director of the Network for Sustainable Financial Markets. He was a Senior Vice President for Trucost in North America through 2012 and is a Co-Founder of the Carbon Tracker Initiative. He is presently teaching, advising and writing in a number of capacities including acting since 2009 as Adjunct & Coordinator at Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights. Over the past year, he has advised to the UN Global Compact, Principles for Responsible Investment, ET Index, KPMG and the University of Cambridge among other ongoing initiatives. Mr. Krosinsky co-edited and wrote the book Sustainable Investing: the Art of Long Term Performance with Nick Robins of HSBC in 2008. The follow-up Evolutions of Sustainable Investing was released by Wiley in 2012 and focused on investors and their strategies, along with regional differences and other perspectives. He was a member of the Expert Group that created the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and has an extensive background in data analysis working with Bloomberg, investment banks and others.

Lisa N. Hasan, is a licenced architect and holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from McGill University and an MBA from Concordia University. Her interests in finance and sustainability have guided her professional career and place her at the intersection between these two spheres of knowledge. Ms. Hasan’s work as a practicing architect has focused on green buildings and the development of sustainable standards for both public and private real estate owners, managers, and investors in Canada and the US. Her involvement with the National Research Council of Canada as the vice-chair of the standing committee on Housing and Small Buildings and member of the task group having developed the latest energy efficiency requirements for the National Building Code of Canada allows her to shed light on current and future real estate regulatory trends. Her involvement with her local urbanism committee allows her to bring to this project an understanding of city planning, zoning bylaws, and social issues tied to real estate and urban development.

Stéfanie D. Kibsey, program coordinator for the David O’Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise at Concordia University, holds an interdisciplinary Master of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo. Her research interests include environmental and social sustainability. Previously, Stefanie has worked in environmental risk management at La Caisse the dépôt et placement du Québec.