According to research released last week by Grosvenor, 75% of the public believe developers only care about making, or saving, money. The British Property Federation recently showed that people can’t articulate what we do, and both studies show that trust in our sector is now wafer thin.
Part of the answer is to broadcast our contribution more clearly. However, if we only talk and forget to listen, we may cement the image of an industry that is out of touch; that feels its obligation is passive; that thinks it needs only to shout louder to be properly understood.
Sometimes, we simply don’t help ourselves.
The most glaring example – and the perfect opportunity to reverse the perception – is the climate crisis. This is now attracting appropriate attention, thanks to the perfect storm of Extinction Rebellion, extreme weather events and Greta Thunberg’s chilling observation that children are sacrificing their education to prevent the destruction of their future.
The IPCC says emissions need to be halved within a decade to avoid the physical destruction and social unrest that a hotter world would deliver. The UKGBC says our industry directly creates 22% – one fifth – of the UK’s emissions through the operation and construction of buildings, rising to 42% including exogenous factors. This issue is now the third most important for voters – the people with whom we want to re-build trust.
We play a central role in a crisis that threatens and worries society. This is the opportunity to evidence our true colours: to show that our industry can respond to the priorities of others with care and agility, mobilising effectively to tackle society’s greatest challenge.
Will halving emissions in a decade be difficult? Yes. Is it achievable? Definitely, because – between us – we already have many of the answers.
Future ready
It feels like a gargantuan task, but we know it’s possible: over the last 10 years, British Land has reduced operational carbon intensity by 64% and energy intensity by 44%. Our asset-by-asset approach is intensely unglamorous, but it’s cost-effective, and it works.
The bigger test lies in reducing cement and steel, which together can easily represent more than half the embodied carbon of a new build commercial building. Imagine the progress we could make by fully understanding materials that sequester, rather than create, carbon and specifying these as standard instead. With a design-for-performance approach, the operational emissions of such buildings can also be transformed.
And, with around half of current development in London believed to be major refurbishment, the most stunning move would be to create buildings that are endlessly flexible, designed for re-configuration and not replacement as the way people use them evolves. Our own experience shows that culture plays a key part in this: a commitment to retain rather than replace, a passion for innovation, and a clearly stated client ambition championed by the entire supply chain, is transforming environmental performance on these projects today.
On climate change, I see pockets of innovation, skill and cathedral thinking right across our industry, yet our progress is too slow. Our challenge is to collaborate and make this thinking mainstream, quickly: the clock is ticking down on the decade, and the ideas we have today will take years to become operational. If we organise ourselves now, we can avoid creating a permanently hotter world. If we don’t, we can’t act surprised if politicians spring legislation on us in response to communities whose trust in developers has evaporated.
Real estate, we’ve got this. With both operational and embodied carbon, we already know enough of the answers to get our industry firing on all cylinders. And, if we respond quickly, we will nurture the innovative, inclusive, and considerate side of this industry for which we really want to be known.
Cressida Curtis is head of corporate affairs and sustainability at British Land
