ABSTRACT
In this chapter we examine sustainability and how organisations engage with the issue. This includes the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is the approach of the organisation towards the communities and environment in which it is located. We focus on how real estate plays a role within these wider concepts, but must also examine the principles in order to understand the pressures that relate to us as asset managers. A business' buildings are a far more visible proof of their approach to sustainability than a written report, and CREAM professionals must reconcile the realities of operating properties with the intentions of their employer. We will recognise that CREAM professionals will be dealing with these issues within a corporate environment that may view them in different ways. On the one hand, responsibility and sustainability are a fundamental of doing business today; we call this chapter ‘Planet’ as it is about the globalised business environment. But, on the other hand, being ‘green’ incurs costs that generate business inefficiency, and can be seen as external coercion to achieve arbitrary political goals and so something to be avoided if at all possible. Your role may be a mixture of complying with legal minimums, procrastination and innovative problem solving. At its best, Planet looks at controlling costs and improving productivity.
