National Institute of Building Sciences, Fannie Mae release roadmap for resilience

The National Institute of Building Sciences and Fannie Mae have released the Resilience Incentivization Roadmap 2.0. The document is intended to guide mitigation investment to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

“Climate resilience will be key to sustainable homeownership as the impacts of climate change increase,” says Tim Judge, head of modeling & chief climate officer with Fannie Mae. “The roadmap provides tangible recommendations to promote resilient investment that U.S. housing certainly needs.”

The document includes sections on the business case for resilience; science, engineering, and evaluation tools; a framework for mitigation certification; discussion of what could prompt developers to invest more in mitigation features; the role of insurers; finance and investor incentives; and government policy.

“We looked at the motivations, barriers, and innovative ideas from each stakeholder group,” says Dr. Jiqiu Yuan, vice president of engineering, NIBS. “The Resilience Incentivization Roadmap provides recommendations that would form the basis for real-world applications to create value for all stakeholders.”

Nationally, on average, natural hazard mitigation saves $4-$11 in avoided future losses for each $1 invested, according to a NIBS study.