Health and wellbeing

When asked how building performance is likely to change over the next three to five years, our findings show that 90% of our respondents predicted stricter sustainability targets, and 76% of investors and developers view stricter sustainability targets as their biggest risk ahead. The government drive towards net zero carbon by 2030, the growing appetite for green funds and organisational commitments to ESG are among the drivers for more sustainable building investment.
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Despite the awareness of the growing importance of sustainability, our research found relatively little holistic action. Part of this could be due to a limited understanding of the commercial impacts of sustainable outcomes which aren’t driven by legislation. Many do not appear to look beyond the realm of energy use and minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) targets. The comparatively low importance assigned to other standards suggests that industry stakeholders aren’t linking sustainability with commercial outcomes such as resilience or value in the market.

Many of our clients are taking a longer-term view of building performance to exceed the requirements of today’s legislation and maintain valuable assets into the future. We support them in each part of the building lifecycle, identifying the sustainable potential and the risks.

New developments allow the greatest scope for sustainable design, yet have huge potential embodied carbon risks, which circular economy construction methods or alternative procurement strategies could mitigate. Refurbishment projects present big opportunities for preserving structures, building fabric and services, with the right design and specialist input. As for the leasing cycle, we are currently working to disrupt an inherently wasteful approach to fitting-out and stripping-out commercial spaces, by supporting forward-thinking occupiers and owners to work together and manage the process differently.