August is Sustainability month, from the program introduced by NAR addressing corporate social responsibility and triple bottom line concepts into NAR’s decision-making practices, balancing economic, environmental, and social benefits.  NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith has posted a facebook fantastic video explaining why this is one of her major goals for the year.  Overall, we aim to increase awareness about sustainability for REALTORS®, showing the business case for sustainability at the association and brokerage level, and highlighting the business opportunity for agents who better understand home performance, valuation, and sustainable development. NAR plans to continue building awareness and creating a culture of sustainability for the association and its members.

Sustainability Priorities will serve as a guiding document that allows NAR to:

• Grow as a leading and trusted voice for sustainability in real estate through communication, advocacy, education, and professionalism
• Keep REALTORS® competitive in a rapidly changing industry by providing information and tools about what consumers value
• Integrate sustainability within all levels of the association through decision-making that balances economic, social, & environmental considerations
• Develop a comprehensive NAR Sustainability Plan with goals and benchmarks for measurable change over time

Focus: Demonstrate (Culture / Social Responsibility)

Priority: Environment (Planet)

1. Develop real estate industry resiliency, risk management, and disaster preparedness/prevention strategies
2. Determine best practices for establishing resource usage baselines, reduction strategies, and goals focused on energy, waste, and transportation
3. Create advocacy strategies that support environmental priorities while maintaining and supporting social and economic priorities
4. Deliver environmental sustainability-specific education via new offerings and leverage established NAR processes, programs, services, designations, and Association partners
5. Add environmental sustainability language to NAR institutional guidance documents, such as a code of ethics, policies, and core standards

Focus: Educate & Replicate (Benefits / Resources)

Priority: Social (People)

1. Integrate sustainability into all NAR event, education, and professionalism offerings
2. Proactively identify social issues of importance to real estate (health/wellness, equity, resources) and determine associated improvement goals
3. Improve messaging and communication strategies to convey the importance and value of sustainability efforts for NAR leadership, associations, members, and consumers
4. Leverage a regional approach for associations and NAR’s regional structure to create and share sustainability best practices that keep REALTORS® essential to consumers and communities
5. Develop sustainability awards and recognitions to encourage adoption among members and REALTORS® associations

Focus: Advocate (Awareness / Engagement)

Priority – Economic (Profit) 

1. Utilize real estate data and best practices to demonstrate the total cost of ownership and highlight the economic and community advantages of sustainable development
2. Emphasize how sustainability priorities fit with NAR’s advocacy efforts and increase awareness, engagement and financial support for these priorities (environment/social/economic)
3. Invest in and support sustainability business planning practices that increase expertise, provide resources, and ensure future economic relevance for members and associations
4. Develop operational practices for all NAR facilities, with a goal of resource reduction and improved efficiency (energy, waste, etc.) that can be modeled for associations and members
5. Advocate for and promote the value of sustainable housing options and real estate job growth for the economy, members’ business, and Association membership

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