Sustainability Street: Marta Schantz’ In-House Perspective

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. My guest for this episode is Marta Schantz, director of sustainability for AvalonBay Communities.

During her time at ULI, Schantz was one of the leading voices for sustainability in commercial real estate as the co-director of the Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability and ULI’s GreenPrint Center for Building Performance. And she was a frequent guest on this podcast.

Last November, Shantz left the non-profit side and joined AvalonBay Communities as director of sustainability. So this is the first time she is bringing an in-house expert perspective on decarbonization, green new construction, building performance standards and more to the podcast.

She and I discuss AvalonBay’s ambitious environmental sustainability goals, including its sweeping plans for solar energy, and we talk about what she’s learned since assuming her new role.

“I was always on the outside with all of my prior roles,” Schantz said. “I got to tout all of these best practices, innovative case studies, share the shiniest, newest innovations. And on the inside, it’s sometimes a little less shiny, but with a much more direct impact.” 

Here are some key moments from our conversation:

• The making of a sustainability director (2:15)
• AvalonBay’s ambitious plans (3:37)
• Shedding light on solar (5:13)
• Green new construction (7:27)
• What Schantz knows now (10:23)
• The current environment for sustainability directors (13:21)