Eighty-four percent of more than 2,800 U.S. apartment residents said that living in a sustainable, green home is important to them, according to the AMLI Sustainable Living Index. Eighty-five percent say they believe that living in a sustainable, green home would be beneficial to their health.
Further, 64 percent of apartment dwellers said they’d pay slightly more in order to live in a green community.
AMLI, a multifamily real estate company, conducted the survey to understand how its residents viewed sustainable living and how much stake the firm should put in it in attracting and retaining residents. The survey was conducted of AMLI residents in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Seattle, Southern California, and Southeast Florida.
The green features that respondents valued the most were: a smoke-free community; energy- and water-efficient features; access to public transit/strong walk and bike scores.
“This survey highlights that residents care about the environment and their health,” says Phil Tague, president of AMLI Residential. “They want homes that enable them to live a greener, healthier lifestyle.”
As such, Tague says, AMLI’s communities are finding ways to use water and energy more efficiently in its properties and to adopt clean-air initiatives and lifestyle amenities to help its residents live more sustainably. For example, in many of its properties, AMLI has installed plumbing that reduces water consumption; added community recycling programs; used native plants in landscaping to reduce water demand; added electric car charging stations as well as bike storage and repair shops; and used low- or no-VOC building materials. Twenty-eight AMLI properties—more than one-third of the firm’s portfolio—are now LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and 15 of its communities are Energy Star certified.
Source: AMLI
