The British Property Federation is calling for a Net Zero Pledge to unite the property sector in its effort to decarbonise the built environment.
BPF president Guy Grainger has called for “radical collaboration” across the property sector to accelerate information-sharing, learning and innovation, and provide more support for smaller businesses.
Grainger, global head of sustainability services and ESG at JLL, said: “The latest report from the UN makes for serious and sober reading – we must act now to limit the worst of the impact of climate change. The built environment is a major contributor to the climate crisis, so the real estate sector has a particular responsibility to decarbonise our assets as quickly as possible.”
The group is urging all of its 400-plus members to have net zero targets and plans in place and be signed up to the BPF Net Zero pledge by June 2023.
The campaign, announced at the UK Government Pavilion at MIPIM, specifically aims to support smaller members on their journey to net zero by leveraging the BPF’s reach across the real estate industry and connecting small and large members in what it calls a “common goal”.
The campaign will be launched formally at the BPF annual conference in June.
Grainger added: “Many of our members are leading the way – during my tenure as BPF president I want to make sure that we share knowledge and good practice, support each other and that every single BPF member has started the journey and is well on the road to net zero.”
BPF chief executive Melanie Leech added: “The real estate sector has a critical role to play in tackling the climate crisis, and there is now a real sense of urgency and gathering momentum as companies make sustainability a key business priority. But this is a shared objective, and our Net Zero Pledge campaign is about accelerating the pace of change by uniting the sector behind this common goal, allowing businesses across all facets of real estate to collaborate, share ideas and learn from each other. It is a bold ambition, but radical collaboration is the only way to address this urgent challenge.”
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