This post is authored by Nicolette Brenden, Senior Marketing Manager at Tango. Drawing on her experience with Tango Energy & Sustainability, Nicolette brings a deep understanding of how energy and sustainability strategies create business value. With nearly a decade of experience translating technical insights into strategy, she focuses on how data-driven sustainability initiatives create measurable impact across the real estate lifecycle.
At this year’s CoreNet Global Summit, one thing stood out to me: sustainability is no longer a sidelined conversation in corporate real estate decisions. What was once treated as a siloed business component or a “nice to have,” has become a core driver of strategy and investment across corporate real estate.
In sessions that spanned from circularity and green leases to AI-driven decarbonization, the message was consistent – sustainability has evolved from a compliance exercise to a business imperative. It’s now shaping how organizations design, lease, operate, and even retire their office spaces.
For someone who’s spent years at the intersection of energy, sustainability, and real estate, it was clear to me that the conversation has matured. Even amid an ever-evolving regulatory and political landscape, sustainability has proven resilient – it’s not a trend, it’s table stakes. Leaders aren’t questioning if it belongs in real estate anymore. They’re focused on the how to operationalize it across every stage of the lifecycle.
Here’s what I observed at CoreNet, broken down into the key trends shaping how sustainability shows up across the real estate lifecycle.
The Theme of Circularity
One of the strongest themes at CoreNet was the growing emphasis on circularity – a shift from the traditional “build, use, dispose” mindset toward one that prioritizes reuse, refurbishment, and long-term value creation. It’s becoming clear that sustainability isn’t just about reducing what we consume, it’s about rethinking the entire lifecycle of real estate assets.
The session “What Circularity Can Do for Corporate Real Estate” highlighted several trends shaping this transition:
- Green leases are emerging as a powerful bridge between owners and occupiers, aligning both parties on efficiency goals, cost-sharing, and data sharing/transparency.
- Net zero goals are now baked into portfolio planning, driving everything from site selection to retrofit prioritization.
- Social resilience is expanding the definition of value beyond energy savings, integrating wellbeing, community impact, and equitable design.
- Adaptive reuse has become a cornerstone of sustainable strategy, helping organizations repurpose existing assets rather than build new.
- Local regulations (like building performance standards) are setting a higher baseline – making sustainability not only good practice, but good business.
As one presenter put it, investing in circularity today is like a hedge against future risk. Every dollar directed toward reuse, diversion, and sustainable decommissioning shields portfolios from future risks like the rising cost of carbon or regulatory liabilities. Circularity is shifting from a side initiative to the lens through which forward-thinking organizations view every real estate decision. From lease terms to operations, the goal remains the same: invest in sustainability to retain value and build resiliency.
Net Zero as the Backbone of Decision Making
If circularity was the “how” at CoreNet, net zero was the “why.” Several speakers underscored that decarbonization isn’t a side initiative or a future goal – it’s now serving as the backbone of every major real estate decision being made.
The conversation has expanded well beyond energy efficiency alone. Leaders are considering water, waste, and even biodiversity as part of their operational and investment strategies. The industry is recognizing that environmental performance is directly tied to financial performance – and that future-proof portfolios depend on both.
A major point of discussion was how technology is accelerating the path to net zero. AI and digital modeling tools are being used to generate building mockups, simulate operational changes, and test retrofit scenarios before a single dollar is spent. Real estate teams are starting to use these insights to plan efficiency projects, prioritize upgrades, and quantify the ROI of decarbonization strategies.
There was also acknowledgment of the real barriers: upfront costs and human behavior. The business case is much more established than it’s ever been, proving cost savings, regulatory alignment, and improved tenant experience – but what remains is the challenge of human sentiment and change management. As one panelist put it, “We’ve proven the math. Now it’s about the mindset.”
At the end of the day, net zero is shaping how portfolios are planned, financed, and operated. It’s the common thread between sustainability commitments and operational excellence. It’s also where data is becoming the most powerful tool to succeed at all of it.
Data and Collaboration: The Currency of Decarbonization
If there was one theme that kept resurfacing at CoreNet, it was data – how it’s collected, shared, and actually used to make decisions. It came up in every discussion, from financing retrofits to managing tenant relationships. There’s a growing recognition that buildings can’t decarbonize in silos. Owners and occupiers both need to see the same information and agree on what success looks like. That’s where green leases continue to gain traction, creating a shared responsibility for energy use, emissions, and operational upgrades. They’re starting to serve less as a legal formality and more as a framework for partnership. Several speakers pointed out that these agreements are what make data sharing real, not theoretical.
But collaboration goes beyond the lease itself. Tenant engagement is becoming the differentiator between organizations that talk about sustainability and those that achieve it. A few speakers emphasized the importance of explaining to tenants how their data is used – not just collecting it, but using it to drive visible improvements in comfort, cost, and experience. When people understand the impact, participation follows.
Cost and risk sharing came up often, too. Many owners are building retrofit pass-throughs into lease structures or exploring joint investments in efficiency projects. Some owners are beginning to share how tenant data directly shapes improvements – things like adjusting HVAC schedules or identifying areas for lighting upgrades. When people see that connection, they’re far more likely to participate. Also, tenants themselves are reshaping expectations, with some corporate occupiers starting to negotiate for access to renewable energy or solar capacity as part of their leases. This is creating a feedback loop where sustainability isn’t a perk – it’s a precondition for doing business and entering leases.
What struck me most was the tone of collaboration. Instead of treating data as proprietary, there was a clear push toward shared accountability. Everyone in the room (both owners and operators) seemed to agree: progress depends less on who owns the information and more on who’s willing to act on it together.
From Compliance to Competitive Advantage
Walking away from CoreNet, it was hard not to feel the momentum building. A few years ago, sustainability sessions sat on the sidelines of the agenda – now, they’re standing-room only (seriously, these sessions were full!). The tone has shifted from “why we should” to “how we will”, and that change matters, because it signals that sustainability is no longer being driven by pressure alone – it’s being driven by opportunity.
Real estate leaders aren’t talking about sustainability as an afterthought anymore. They’re talking about it as a lens for smarter investment, risk reduction, and long-term asset value. Efficiency projects aren’t just good for the planet; they’re improving the bottom line and employee experience at the same time. Circularity, net zero strategies, and data transparency aren’t separate initiatives – they’re working together to be the new foundation on which portfolios are managed and measured.
For those working at the intersection of real estate and sustainability, this shift feels both overdue and energizing. It reinforces what we’ve seen firsthand: that when data connects across the real estate lifecycle – from the way spaces are leased and operated to how energy and carbon are managed – organizations gain a clearer picture of where they are and what to do next.
That’s exactly where Tango fits in. By helping organizations unify their data, uncover opportunities, and operationalize sustainability across the real estate lifecycle, we’re enabling the kind of progress that was on full display at CoreNet – where sustainability isn’t just the topic of a session, it’s the strategy guiding every decision.
