Ventas is worth
and has a portfolio of 1,400 properties
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
Q . HOW DID YOU DEVELOP A DECARBONISATION PLAN ?
» We had about 800 properties under our operational control when we began . Traditional methods would take years and significant cost to conduct individual , deep-dive decarbonisation analyses on so many properties .
These properties are managed by around 50 operators . We needed an innovative , data-driven approach to develop property-specific net-zero pathways for all our assets . Time was crucial , as we invest significant capital annually in our portfolio on heating , ventilation and air conditioning systems .
We also invest in water heaters , roofs and other energy-consuming equipment in our buildings . Every year that we don ’ t decarbonise during routine replacements , we miss an opportunity and increase our regulatory risk . Local and state mandatory building performance standards are proliferating . We knew we needed to decarbonise our buildings through electrification and energy efficiency . All electricity needed to come from 100 % renewable energy sources . Our challenge was translating this to the building and equipment level for our operators to execute .
Q . WHAT APPROACH DID YOU TAKE ?
» We used a technologically enabled approach , employing a tool to create detailed , unique plans for each of our 800 buildings . The tool uses data sources including satellite imaging , solar radiation information , soil
Ventas is worth
$ 30bn
and has a portfolio of 1,400 properties
conditions , weather and energy models of about a million buildings . We provided our building data to layer on top of that . For some buildings , we had conducted energy audits and had extensive data . For most , we only provided the size , type and recent utility bills .
The tool applied a machine learning algorithm to produce a unique energy audit for each building . It then created a detailed description of how each building could achieve our goals .
This included each step , its cost and the energy it would save . In a short time , we had detailed roadmaps for each building , easily aggregated into a portfolio-level view .
94 February 2025