< PreviousZachary Flora, vice president of market growth at Fitwel, says of these final rankings, “We’ve seen real estate industry leaders commit to Fitwel certification at scale in many of these top 10 lists. In particular, there’s been significant demand and growth in Canada — and we think it’s just the beginning.” He calls out in particular the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, one of Fitwel’s Best in Building Health winners, for “setting the standard for what the future of retail will look like with its people-centric design and operations.” Flora also sees growth coming to the UK and across the EU due to ESG reporting requirements and a drive to strengthen corporate performance when it comes to the “S” pillar. Fitwell launched in 2017 and adoption was led by major U.S. metros like New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., Flora says. However, recent growth has been bolstered by a number of metros across the South and West that also appear in this year’s rankings, including Charlotte, Atlanta, Austin and Dallas. As for the states, “It’s no surprise to see states like Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina in the Top 10 list,” he says. “The U.S. West and Sunbelt have seen higher rates of Fitwel adoption particularly for multifamily residential assets, which matches larger U.S. population growth trends. As MFR developers and owners strive to deliver health-promoting and high-performing properties we will continue to see them use Fitwel as a mark of quality and a market differentiation tool.” The same, presumably, goes for office and industrial developers and employers seeking to draw that talent to their workplaces. TOP 10 U.S. STATES 1 North Carolina 2 Colorado 3 Virginia 4 California 5 Arizona 6 Oregon 7 Texas 8 New York 9 Illinois 10 Washington CRITERIA: • Criteria: CSR Rankings from CSRHub on locations of high-CSR-rated companies • LEED Certified Building total and per capita (USGBC) • Energy Star Buildings, total and per capita (DOE) • Renewable Energy Generation (Energy Information Administration) • Green Laws/Incentives (DSIRE: Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency • Solar Census Jobs (IREC) • Measurabl data on building-level energy efficiency • Fitwel building certification data; Green Industry Projects (Conway Data Projects Database) as defined by federal NAICS industry codes considered part of green industry supply chain. TOP 10 COUNTRIES 1 Sweden 2 United States 3 Canada 4 United Kingdom 5 Ireland 6 Australia 7 Germany 8 Spain 9 France 10 Netherlands 10 Ireland CRITERIA: • CSR Rankings from CSRHub on locations of high-CSR- rated companies • LEED Certified Building total and per capita (USGBC) • Renewable Energy Capacity, MW and MW per capita (IRENA) • Renewable Energy Deployment (EY); Ocean Health Index; World Happiness Index; Green Futures Index (Technology Review) • Measurabl data on building-level energy efficiency • Fitwel building certification data • Green Industry Projects (Conway Data Projects Database) as defined by federal NAICS industry codes considered part of greenindustry supply chain. 94 JULY 2023 SITE SELECTIONFinding Common Ground At a redeveloped textile mill property in Greenville, South Carolina, I recently met with Jackie Baxley, EH&S practice leader and principal at environmental engineering consultancy HRP, and Ethel Bunch, president and CEO of Sustain South Carolina, to talk about how sustainability impacts and is impacted by corporate growth and area economic development. As it happened, it was World Environment Day, with a theme focused on plastic pollution. Baxley had just completed Sustain SC’s Sustainability Leadership Initiative (SLI), whose purpose statement reads: “We are visionaries and collaborators who fi nd and implement transformative strategies at the intersection of commerce and conservation to facilitate systems change.” In a refl ection posted on LinkedIn, Baxley wrote that her perspective on the complexities of packaging, plastics and recycling was infl uenced by having in her SLI cohort Caroline James, the director of sustainability at Atlantic Packaging. “I also learned from my cohort how companies are designing in considerations of a circular economy into their product; how conservation easements work; how governmental relations and communication play a critical role; and how business and industry can perform as they transform,” Baxley wrote. Asked for an example of sustainability infl uencing site selection, she cites an Irish company looking to locate their fi rst North American operations somewhere in Upstate South Carolina that came to HRP for environmental and permitting guidance. e degree of scrutiny for air permitting in particular was more stringent than the company expected. But HRP helped them build that into the timeline and navigate what was available to them in terms of expedited permitting, then provided similar guidance with regard to wastewater. “As they got through the construction phase and had an eye on operation, we transferred to environmental compliance and health and safety compliance, as well as ISO ,” she says. “ e ISO program paves the way for sustainability,” whether the company is aiming for simple compliance or has more ambitious objectives. “ ey moved to the Upstate seven years ago, and we’ve worked with them ever since.” Sometimes sustainability means sustaining priorities even if the political atmosphere threatens to poison them. Some states’ legislators have gone so far as to propose legislation denying state funds to any company with an ESG program in place. Bunch observes that it’s the “S” or social aspect of ESG where the most pushback has come, though there is also the motivation to protect mom-and- TOP 10 U.S. METROS 1 Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX 2 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 3 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 4 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 5 Columbus, OH 6 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA 7 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 7 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 9 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA- MD-WV 10 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA CRITERIA: • LEED Certifi ed Building total and per capita (USGBC) • Energy Star Buildings, total and per capita (DOE) • Measurabl data on building-level energy effi ciency • Fitwel building certifi cation data • Green Industry Projects (Conway Data Projects Database) as defi ned by federal NAICS industry codes considered part of green industry supply chain. 96 JULY 2023 SITE SELECTION Image: Getty Images SITE SELECTION JULY 2023 97 pop establishments and SMEs from environmental strictures that may prove onerous if not a downright threat to a company’s existence. Baxley says that “S” also can also refer to workforce development and green jobs. At the same time, that “S” is important to multinationals with strong devotion to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. If a territory is looking to attract those companies, she says, it helps to have an SDG study, as her organization does, that she can give to huge area employers as Michelin, BMW and Volvo to take back to their HQs. “ e Michelin leader likes to go to France showing where we are moving forward,” she says. “Our mission is to connect sustainability goals to business with local solutions.” “A big part of being a leader in sustainability is to detoxify the conversation,” says Baxley. “ESG is nothing new. It’s just the fi rst time we’ve put those things under one umbrella. e EPA has been around since the Nixon administration, the social aspects since the Kennedy administration. Governance has always been around. But for whatever reason there is a narrative that it’s the big bad wolf. ESG is just an identifi cation of your risk. Sustainability is how you mitigate that risk.” U.S. wind, utility solar, and energy storage capacity had the third-largest year on record in 2022 with over 25 GW of new clean power installed. Source: American Clean Power Association98 JULY 2023 SITE SELECTION INVESTMENT PROFILE: ULTRAPARK DEVELOPMENT GROUP, COSTA RICA Costa Rica Is Services Central in Central America Reshoring, a ready workforce and commercial real estate propel a virtuous cycle. O n a Zoom meeting from Heredia, Costa Rica, a northern suburb of the capital city San José, Gene Conley aims his laptop camera at the fl oor- to-ceiling windows of Boston Consulting Group’s newest global hub, located at Heredia’s Ultrapark I offi ce complex. “You can see,” Conley narrates, “the beauty of San José and the mountains all around us. You see the Escazu on this side and the Poas on that side.” To Conley, who established the hub in as BCG’s country leader for Costa Rica, that visceral, visual connection is about more than mere aesthetics. “All of our employees have a view out these windows,” he says. “So, while they get to enjoy the beauty of looking out into Costa Rica, it reminds us metaphorically to be looking out to support the customers and clients that we serve, and to be externally focused that way.” Marvelous as it is, that inspiring, unobstructed vista — delivered by a tandem of nature and the exacting specifi cations of Costa Rica’s Ultrapark Development Group — wasn’t precisely the main driver for one of the world’s leading management consulting fi rms to plant a fl ag in San José. With global service centers in cities including Atlanta, Delhi, London, Madrid and Munich, BSG came to see Costa Rica as a “natural fi t,” says Conley, for the group’s expansion into Latin America. “We looked at all the likely candidates, which would include the traditional hubs like Mexico City, Panama City, Santiago, Chile, and Quito, Ecuador. Costa Rica just kept coming up both in terms of data and anecdotal discussions.” Tops among considerations, Conley says, was the talent it takes to staff a projected -job service operation tasked with providing internal support in areas that include business intelligence, software engineering, legal, advanced graphics, research and administration. Ninety-nine percent of his team, Conley says, is Costa Rican. Zach Cheney, who has helped place “countless” U.S. clients in Costa Rica as managing director for northern Latin America for the corporate real estate consulting fi rm JLL, says Costa Rica has developed an enviable reputation over the last three decades, a period during which scores of Fortune companies have established thriving service centers in Central America’s most prosperous and peaceful enclave. by GARY DAUGHTERS gary.daughters@siteselection.com Ultrapark II in Heredia, Costa Rica Photo courtesy of Ultrapark Development Group SITE SELECTION JULY 2023 99 This Investment Profile was prepared under the auspices of Ultrapark Development Group. For more information, contact José Benavides, Commercial Director, at 506 6311 0877 or at jbenavides@ultrapark. com. On the web, go to www.ultrapark.com. “In terms of workforce,” Cheney says, “it’s just a completely diff erent ballgame in Costa Rica than other places in Latin America. Costa Rica has developed a workforce that can provide sophisticated shared services functions from fi nance to technical support to human resources and lots of other areas. It’s just a diff erent level of service and resources. Bilingual people,” he says, “are everywhere.” Great Ways to Get Up and Running As meticulously as BCG had considered locations throughout Latin America, when the decision was made for Costa Rica, the company’s site selection team hit the ground hard in search of a real estate partner. Here, says Conley, BCG uncovered another natural fi t, this time in Ultrapark Development Group. “We visited multiple locations and met multiple landlords,” he says. “Ultrapark,” he remembers, “sent their entire leadership team. ey made it very clear that their full attention was on supporting BCG.” When Conley had to set up shop during the grips of the COVID- pandemic, he learned that the attention from Ultrapark management — far from concluding when he signed on the dotted line — was really just beginning. “ ere were supply chain shortages for lots of technical equipment,” he recalls. “I called Ultrapark and said, ‘Hey, we need laptops, what do you recommend?’ ey got it done for us.” Ultrapark, says Conley, stepped in repeatedly “to help us solve problems and really smooth our entrance into Costa Rica. ey worked with us very closely,” he says, “so that one day we just showed up at the offi ce and it was built ready to go.” at “plug and play” approach is Ultrapark’s signature. Developed over the company’s years, the vertically integrated model off ers a suite of services that go far beyond custom design and construction to include such amenities as fi nancing, technical support, telecommunications, cleaning, food, fi tness and entertainment. “A one-stop shop” is how commercial director José Benavides describes it. “ ey’ve been very smart about it,” says JLL’s Cheney. “Maybe it’s because of the size of their portfolio, but they are able to provide a very low barrier to entry. You come in, they’ll do the fi t- out, they’ll get you going, and they won’t make you pay up front. “Not only are they one of the predominant and most reputable players in the market,” says Cheney, “they pioneered the model where they off er a completely built-out solution. It’s such an attractive value proposition that others have started to copy it, so as not to be left behind by Ultrapark.” Growth Is a Given With high-end offi ce space spanning more than million sq. ft. (, sq. m.), Ultrapark owns and operates four Free Zone offi ce parks within the San José metro. A fi fth is on the way. Between and , as increasing numbers of service companies sought locations in U.S.-friendlier time zones, the group increased its roster of tenants by a full one-third. e bigger part of the story, believes Cheney, is the growth that occurs within operations once they locate in Costa Rica. “Almost every tenant or client that I work with that’s thinking about reshoring, they say they’re going to dip their toes in the water in Costa Rica and see what happens. Almost inevitably what happens is that it goes great. ey fi nd unbelievable resources, the operation is a success and it grows. It’s happened time and time again.” BCG, says Conley, has secured an agreement to allow it to expand beyond the , sq. ft. it occupies at Ultrapark I. He has little doubt that BCG Costa Rica is on a growth track. “It’s been a great match,” Conley says. “Costa Rica has exceeded our expectations. It would have been much harder without the support and leadership of Ultrapark. We will remain here as we grow.” Not only are they one of the predominant and most reputable players in the market, they pioneered the model where they off er a completely built-out solution. It’s such an attractive value proposition that others have started to copy it, so as not to be left behind by Ultrapark.” — Zach Cheney , Managing Director for Northern Latin America, JLL Not only are they one of the predominant and most 100 JULY 2023 SITE SELECTION Louisiana cleans up while helping the world meet its clean energy goals. Ascension Parish has $11.5 billion worth of clean energy projects in the works. Photo courtesy of Ascension Economic Development Coroporation Louisiana STATE SPOTLIGHT I n the midst of the clean energy race, companies appear to have found Louisiana’s geological makeup ideal for pursuing sustainable large-scale carbon capture and sequestration. In turn they’re investing billions in the process. Ascension Parish is one region that knows clean energy production. Its position along the Mississippi River provides industry with an abundant water supply, robust transportation infrastructure and access to both low- cost natural gas supply and the world’s largest hydrogen pipeline. Since , this region has secured $. billion in new investment or expansions from Methanex, Chevron Renewable Energy Group and Air Products, whose projects are set to reach completion by the end of . In , $. billion in potential investment was announced within the parish, though fi nal investment decisions are still to come for these projects. ese pending decisions come from CF Industries and Japan-based Mitsui & Co., as well as Clean Hydrogen Works (in partnership with Denbury Carbon Solutions and Hafnia) for new blue ammonia facilities. Nutrien intends to build the world’s largest low-carbon ammonia plant. by ALEXIS ELMORE alexis.elmore@siteselection.com SITE SELECTION JULY 2023 101 “A typical due diligence timeline for a small project is 12 to 18 months. A project with over a billion dollars in capital investment could take 24 to 36 months from the first point of contact to the final investment decision,” says Ascension Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Kate MacArthur. “For both CF Industries and Clean Hydrogen Works an announcement was made pending a final investment decision. We anticipate a final investment decision from CF Industries by the end of 2023 and Clean Hydrogen Works in mid-2024.” CF Industries is among a plethora of leading clean energy manufacturers that continuously invest in the state. Right now a new $198.5 million carbon dioxide dehydration and compression plant is in the works. The largest ammonia production facility to date will be located in the company’s Donaldsonville “Blue Point” Complex. The facility will aid in reducing CO2 emissions produced by its current ammonia network. Slated for completion in Q4 of 2024, this addition will enable preparation of up to 2 million tons of CO2 for permanent sequestration and marketability of 1.7 million tons of blue ammonia each year. The project was approved for Louisiana’s Industrial Tax Exemption program and will create 12 new jobs at an average salary of $100,000. “This is only the beginning of clean energy technologies. We hope that the long-term impact of these projects and the incentives for clean energy deployment will continue to push research and development and innovation that will materialize in new technologies and projects for decades to come,” says MacArthur.BY THE NUMBERS LOUISIANA Source: Conway Projects Database Selected Top Projects COMPANY CITY INVESTMENT (MILLIONS US$) 102 JULY 2023 SITE SELECTION More To Come A week and a half following its carbon capture project news in August , CF Industries and Mitsui & Co. announced their proposed $ billion blue ammonia production facility, which will also be constructed at the Donaldsonville Complex. It is estimated that the project would create direct new jobs and indirect jobs, according to Louisiana Economic Development. Source: Site Selection State of the States Report, January 2023 Total Revenue as Share of Total Expenses, FY 2006-2020: 100.9% 39 th 28 th Business Tax Climate Rank Change 2022–2023: +3 39 th Number of NCRCs: 232,308 | Percent Improvement 2021–2022: 11.86% 8 th Higher Ed. R&D Expenditure in $000s: 757,416 2022 Workers’ Comp Index Rate: 2.13 5 th 21 st Industrial power cost per kWh: $8.77 Niagara Bottling Tangipahoa Cnty. 160 Shell Catalysts & Technologies West Baton Rouge Cnty. 122 Ucore Rare Metals Rapides Cnty. 75 Placid Refi ning Company West Baton Rouge Cnty. 66 Georgia-Pacifi c East Baton Rouge Cnty. 50 Methanex announces $1.3 billion methanol manufacturing expansion. Chevron Renewable Energy Group begins $825 million renewable diesel plant expansion. Air Products $4.5 billion blue hydrogen facility announcement. CF Industries in partnership with Mitsui & Co. announces evaluation of $2 billion blue ammonia facility. Nutrien considering $2 billion low carbon ammonia plant. Ascension Clean Energy in partnership with Denbury Carbon Solutions and Hafnia evaluating $7.5 billion blue ammonia facility. July 2019 October 2020 October 2021 August 2022 ASCENSION PARISH CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT TIMELINE : May 2022 October 2022 CF Industries and Mitsui & Co, are now conducting their FEED study at the Blue Point Complex. Photo courtesy of CF IndustriesNext >