Responsible Property Investing: Defining the Field

February 2008

Although socially responsible investing has been around for decades, responsible property investing is a relatively new idea.

Responsible property investment (RPI) refers to all the ways that investors can find and create value through real estate projects that deliver financial, social and environmental returns.

RPI is not philanthropy – it is a discipline that allows real estate professionals to better address risks and identify opportunities for long-term value creation.

"A number of real estate investors who might not otherwise be much involved with social investing are taking seriously their potential to create value through the range of RPI," says David Wood, director of the Boston College Center's Institute for Responsible Investment. "This encompasses green building, urban revitalization, brownfield redevelopment, fair labor standards, affordable and workforce housing, community and corporate citizenship, land conservation, mixed-use, mixed-income, and so on. Real estate investing is a distinct branch of the investment community, and the tangible impacts of property management and development offer substantial, and relatively immediate, opportunities for impact."

These strategies are the focus of the Responsible Property Investing Center (RPIC), created last year by the Boston College Center's Institute for Responsible Investment (IRI) and the University of Arizona. The RPIC provides a platform for dialogue about fundamental issues and theories underlying responsible investment and corporate citizenship.

On March 25-26, the RPIC is hosting the third annual Responsible Property Investing Forum at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston.

"We use these meetings to bring together different players in the real estate investment community – institutional investors, fund mangers, developers, lenders, and consultants, along with those with environmental and social RPI focuses – to share best practices, discuss the values of and barriers to RPI investment, and to break down silos around key RPI issues," said Wood.

"We have found the meetings to be useful ways to help develop a field of practice, and we have especially found an increasing interest from mainstream real estate organizations such as the Urban Land Institute, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Building Owners and Managers Association, and others, along with a heightened interest from the social investment community."

To learn more about this event, view the forum invitation or contact David Wood at 617.552.1140 or wooddl@bc.edu.

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