Is resident behaviour a neglected factor in the pursuit of truly sustainable buildings?

The technological side of creating sustainable residential buildings gets all the attention, whether you’re talking renewable energy production, thermal efficiency or low-carbon construction methods. But a recent webinar I hosted suggested this focus might be detrimental to the end goal. Is it possible that the behaviour of the people living in these buildings is equally, or even more, important? If yes, how do we understand, engage and educate residents to ensure that sustainable buildings have the smallest impact?

As the industry’s only dedicated resident review site, HomeViews aims to better understand resident behaviour through the tens of thousands of new build reviews on our platform. Last year saw the publication of our third annual Sustainability Report, which analysed responses to the questions we ask all reviewers about whether they value sustainable building features and which they value the most.

Social Sustainability

We’re also seeing industry partners increasingly using our data to assess the social impact of their buildings – the ‘S’ in the ESG mix. Our review data quickly reveals what is working or not, and why, for the residents connected to any building, portfolio or even a geographical region or resident type.

The combination of this data on sustainable building features alongside the overall resident experience can help to steer how investors, developers and operators approach new projects. And it was this approach that sparked the discussion topic of our recent webinar with guests Richard Smith from Moda Living and Brendan Geraghty at the UKAA.

Data collected separately by both HomeViews and Moda Living showed that younger residents were less interested in sustainable building features than those in the older age brackets. In fact, interest in these features grew proportionally with the age of a resident.

Consumer attitudes

While cost-saving technologies were understandably seen to be growing in importance overall, the comparative lack of interest among the 18-24 age group (64%, compared with 86% for the 65+ group) suggests that resident attitudes and behaviours – and, by association, demand and commercial viability – must be considered as major factors when creating genuinely sustainable buildings.

As an example of this, HomeViews data showed that the most-valued sustainable building feature was recycling facilities. More than half (55%) of residents who valued sustainable features said this was the most important sustainable building feature to them. However, in terms of the environmental impact of the building, recycling could be seen as having a relatively small impact on its overall environmental footprint.

Informed and educated

Insights like this reveal the opportunity we have to help residents better understand the environmental impact their living spaces have, as well as how their use of them can affect this. We can shift the cultural awareness on a small scale to help move the needle for macro issues. Many consumers have been educated about recycling since their early school days, but factors like embodied carbon and efficient energy use are perhaps not as well understood.

Overall, in 2022 to 2023, 70% of reviewers said they did value sustainable buildings features – slightly up on the previous year’s data. So, despite the cost-of- living crisis, interest and demand continue to rise, presenting us with a key opportunity to educate residents and contribute to a wider cultural shift towards more sustainable lifestyles.

Additionally, build-to-rent residents placed the highest value in sustainability of all new build resident types. This indicates that the ‘aspirational’ nature of the BTR product carries with it an expectation for higher environmental standards. The growing BTR sector therefore has an opportunity to lead the way in both technological and behavioural sustainability, within and around its communities.

Rory Cramer will be hosting a panel discussion on ‘The ‘S’ in ESG: Embedding Resident Focus into Every Process’ at the inaugural HomeViews Resident Choice Awards on 23 February 2024 in Birmingham