To paraphrase Goebbels, to whom the quote is often attributed in a different context, when I hear the word Sustainability, I reach for my revolver.  Goebbels was talking about the ubiquitous use of the word Culture, deemed always and everywhere to be a Good Thing.  While doubtless culture has its merits, the rise of Sustainability, or Nachhaltigkeit, as the supposed panacea for all ills, carries with it the same danger of being rendered meaningless by indiscriminate over-use.

Like “liberty” or “justice”, the concept of sustainability threatens to become nothing other than a feel-good buzzword with no real meaning or substance.  If,  two years from now, the talk is still all about sustainability, it will be obvious that we are still in a deep and ongoing recession, and the real estate industry hasn’t come up with significant new ideas to get the markets moving again.  Sustainability will still be top of the agenda, but green-fatigue will have to be countered by specific commercial marketing of the individual merits of a waste-reducing, energy-efficient, employee-friendly building that can provide solid financial returns to investors and tenants. It will soon have to be more narrowly defined, if it is to continue to have any meaning. Continue Reading