The majority of UK office landlords do not have a sustainability strategy, according to research commissioned by infinitSpace in partnership with The Instant Group.
A survey of 250 commercial landlords with offices in the UK found only 30% have a sustainability strategy in place, with 42% of respondents stating that they have individual sustainability policies in place but no overall strategy. Alarmingly, 23% of respondents said they were unaware if there were any sustainability policies in place across their portfolio and 5% confirmed they had no sustainability policies in place whatsoever.
The survey, which defined a sustainability strategy as several policies with an overall aim to reduce greenhouse emissions and/or promote environmentally friendly practices, revealed 48% of UK commercial landlords recognise that having strong environmental policies is essential to attract tenants to a commercial property today and of those with an occupancy level greater than 70%, more than half (56%) have sustainability strategies in place.
Wybo Wijnbergen, CEO of infinitSpace, said: “Sustainability is a key factor for businesses when selecting a workspace, and our research has clearly demonstrated that landlords which prioritise this will be rewarded with uptake in demand.
“But that is not the only reason landlords must have robust sustainability strategies in place. In the UK, the built environment is responsible for a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions; so the real estate sector clearly has a key role to play in reducing emissions. infinitSpace and The Instant Group’s research highlights that this cannot be achieved without helping office landlords to make their portfolios more sustainable.”
Sam Pickering, executive director of sustainability at Incendium – part of the Instant Group – added: “It’s undeniable that the right strategic advisory and investment in sustainability practices are mutually beneficial for both asset owners and the planet. The correlation between established sustainability strategies and higher occupancy rates as revealed in this research is significantly compelling.
“As the evolving world of work and prioritisation of sustainability continue to disrupt the real estate industry, office landlords and investors are at a crossroads. The time is now for owners and landlords to commit to long-term sustainability strategies. Otherwise, achieving targets will become more challenging or even missed, and they will get left behind. It requires a fundamental mindset and behaviour shift that puts sustainability at the core of business agendas and operating models.”
