Invitation Homes Invests in Climate Technology Fund

Invitation Homes announced that it has invested in Fifth Wall’s Climate Technology Fund.

Invitation Homes is one of the investors to participate in The Climate Tech Fund. It is designed to invest in technologies that address decarbonization across all stages of and asset classes within the real estate ecosystem, including materials, construction, operations and revitalization. Ivanhoé Cambridge and others have also invested in the fund.

“We are committed to creating a better way to live and to being a force for positive change, while at the same time advancing efforts that make our company more innovative and our processes more sustainable,” Invitation Homes President & CEO Dallas Tanner said in a prepared statement. “We’re very pleased to support the climate tech fund and to be at the forefront of helping to find and advance climate-friendly home solutions.”

In addition to investing in the Fifth Wall Fund, Invitation Homes is continuing its sustainability-related operational actions and investments. Those commitments include the use of Smart Home technology that helps residents save up to 15% on their energy bills; water-saving landscaping in arid locations; low-flow plumbing; electronic work orders that reduce paper waste; route optimization and stocked vehicles to decrease maintenance technicians’ drive time; and an air filter home delivery program to provide better air quality in homes and improve HVAC efficiency.

In a recent interview, Tanner told CNBC’s Diana Olick that investing in the fund was important for both the planet and the company’s bottom line.

“Without a doubt, we have to find a way to have properties that can be more sustainable over the long haul, whether that’s how we use the energy from the sun to how we think about our own water usage and being smart around recycling and things like that,” Tanner told Olick. “If we can put things in the home that will drive down utility costs over time and lend itself to a better overall experience for our resident, we’ll get a longer duration from our resident with a higher propensity to renew. Thus, it’s a win for both parties.”

Tanner says there are a lot of ways that single-family housing operators can improve efficiency. “There are things you can do around roofs,” he told Olick. “There are things you can do around the way you use drainage in a property site. There are things you can do to be more proactive in terms of how you look at energy efficiencies around the appliances that you’re putting in homes.”