Denile Doyle chats with Cassandra McFadden, vice president & global head of sustainability at Cortland, about how sustainability is becoming a meaningful lever for long-term performance across multifamily.

McFadden recounts what it took for Cortland to earn top GRESB ratings and how the company has applied a policy-to-practice approach, from waste diversion to utility management to resident education.

How does she manage misconceptions about sustainability? The right language and goal alignments, says McFadden, can help you counter the naysayers and get the results you want for your firm.

Here are some of the topics we cover:

• (5:26) What drove Cortland’s GRESB journey from 2 to 5 stars
• (10:18) What residents actually notice when it comes to sustainability
• (17:12) Earth Month initiatives that resonate with residents
• (22:30) The two metrics that matter most in proving real sustainability impact.
• (25:19) Why the industry struggles to price sustainability improvements