Description
This award recognises a project or program that demonstrates best practise for the decarbonisation of real estate including reference to:
Impact on market value through investing in decarbonisation
Design & construction strategies to reduce embodied carbon footprint
Design strategies to reduce operational carbon
The use of on-site renewable energy
Stakeholder strategies to achieve decarbonisation
Eligibility
This award is open to all companies and organisations that operate within the property industry in Australia and New Zealand.
The award is open to all projects, initiatives or products that have been carried out between 1 January 2025 and 31 March 2026.
Judging Context
The judges will be looking to recognise the project or program that best represents low carbon real estate in a holistic way.
The jury’s emphasis will be on projects and programs that have a proven track record, have demonstrated innovation and have the potential to scale across the industry and community.
Generic Questions
The Elevator Pitch (100 words)
In 100 words, describe the initiative and how it demonstrates industry excellence in this award category.
The Problem Statement (300 words)
In up to 300 words, describe the context in which the initiative was developed.
Please include commentary about the problem or challenge that was being addressed and a statement about its level of complexity.
The Solution Statement (500 words)
In up to 500 words, outline the solution that was developed to address the problem, the process that was developed to execute and deliver the initiative, and the resultant impact of the initiative.
Please outline the objectives, key performance indicators (KPIs) and value proposition; the budgets, resources, team, delivery program and key milestones; and the methodology for how success was measured.
Please submit your response with the following criteria in mind:
Stabilised operation
Market acceptance and financial success
Excellence in all areas – including the areas of design, architecture, planning, construction & management
Relevance to contemporary and future needs of the community in which it is located
Demonstrated innovation
Impact on local community and immediate context including contribution to advancing equity and inclusion
Environmental sustainability and stewardship
Replicability
Judging Questions
Design and Construction Strategies to Reduce Embodied Carbon Footprint
In up to 300 words, describe how the project calculated and addressed embodied carbon impacts during design, construction, use of local materials and/or deconstruction (materials selection, design for deconstruction, circular design etc).
Design Strategies to Reduce Operational Carbon
In up to 300 words, describe how the project has been designed to reduce operational carbon and/or reach net zero, including energy efficiency (provide data on projects active energy use intensity) , electrification, energy storage or grid interactivity and renewable energy. Describe how the methods, materials and technologies utilised will be replicable in the general market, including reference to upfront costs.
The Use of On-Site Renewable Energy
In up to 300 words, describe how the project contributed to operational decarbonisation using on-site renewable energy, including data on energy generation, the selected technology, the contract type and energy storage strategies.
Stakeholder Strategies to Achieve Decarbonisation
In up to 300 words, describe how the project equitably engaged stakeholders (tenants, property managers and the community) to promote industry wide decarbonisation and how it ensured ongoing performance standards. List stakeholder groups by category.
Impact on Market Value
In up to 300 words, describe how the project creates value through investing in decarbonisation and how the investment is financially viable, replicable, ahead of local decarbonisation regulations and/or beyond risk reduction.
Other Comments
Unlike the standard TUD Awards, for the ULI Awards for Excellence we do not assign a weighting for each of the judging criteria used by the jurors.
The process adopted involves a wide ranging discussion between the jurors led by one juror, addressing each of the criteria and with the jury panel at the first jury session coming to a conclusion as to whether the submitted project/program deserves to be on a short-list for further detailed consideration.
The second stage of the assessment involves a more detailed evaluation including a site inspection and discussions with the submitter.
This is followed by the second jury session where each of the shortlisted projects are considered and from which the winning entry is chosen.
