More than a decade after “green building” became one of the hottest topics in real estate, it remains a key focus and pursuit within the industry — including industrial real estate. In fact, institutional investment in high-performance industrial manufacturing, warehouse and distribution facilities, which have been designed to reduce negative environmental impacts, remains at an all-time high.

Underlying factors

Three primary factors currently are driving capital’s sustainable-investment focus.

Environmental, social and governance requirements: Institutional capital sources today are increasingly bound by environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements, which provide socially conscious investors with a mechanism for screening potential investment opportunities. The environmental criteria of ESG specifically evaluates how a company performs as a steward of nature, often looking at a company’s impact on carbon