CBRE Group, Inc., (NYSE:CBG) today announced the launch of the Real Green Research Challenge (RGRC), a four-year, US$1 million commitment to fund leading-edge sustainability research and innovation relating to commercial real estate.

CBRE is now accepting submissions for research proposals, with the goal of developing solutions to the industry’s critical environmental challenges. The types of research the RGRC programme will fund include productivity studies, large-scale predictive modeling, energy efficiency technologies, data management programmes and diagnostic tools.

Over the next four years, CBRE will award up to US$1 million to fund independent academic research into sustainable real estate practices. Selected applicants will receive up to $250,000 for basic research and implementation, with the first successful proposals expected to receive initial funding in February 2013. In addition to monetary funds, RGRC-funded projects will have access to CBRE’s global market data and resources to help them to commercialise their ideas.

“We’ve seen growing market awareness of commercial buildings’ impact on the environment,” said Bob Sulentic, CBRE’s President. “This has inspired new thinking and innovation in sustainability research. However, people with good ideas often lack financial support and access to real-time market data and insight into building construction, occupancy and management that only a global firm like CBRE can provide. Our RGRC programme will help to unleash innovation by connecting ideas with funding and CBRE’s unparalleled information and people resources.”

David Hitchcock, EMEA Head of Building Consultancy at CBRE, added “This is our industry’s first funding mechanism that supports research, innovation and collaboration of sustainability practices on a global scale. We believe that the EMEA market will be inspired by the Real Green Research Challenge and we hope to attract ground breaking ideas that will have a meaningful impact on future sustainable commercial real estate practices.”

CBRE has assembled an authoritative panel of internal and external global experts and thought-leaders to evaluate research proposals. The judges include members of academia, non-governmental organizations and industry.

"Commercial buildings can generate serious environmental impacts for both current and future generations. However, smart research and innovation can significantly reduce these impacts,” said Mark Kenber, CEO of The Climate Group. “Therefore we support CBRE’s efforts with the RGRC and applaud its commitment to bringing its resources to bear for positive environmental change."

Full details about the RGRC, its evaluation criteria, and terms and conditions are available at www.cbre.com/rgrc. Submissions will be accepted via the website until 31 December 2012.

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Please click here to visit the Real Green Research Challenge website