Joseph Michael Daniels, CEO and founder of the Etopia Group, takes a look at why net zero and green tech early adoption are the perfect fit for real estate
As net zero and the low carbon transition hasten, fascinating but presently nascent green tech is going to be in the ascendancy.
The business logic behind this is rock solid. Legacy approaches to carbon are out and it makes sense to take legacy technologies off the menu too.
Replacing them, we need rapid new solutions like IoT smart tech, responsive renewables and intelligently designed building materials across our homes and offices.
Aligning the early adoption of such tech with net zero makes complete sense. As we redesign older infrastructure, like our electricity grid for example, it’s logical to redesign the complementary technology within our buildings to a similar timeline. So, this is our brave new world. Beautifully aligned, it will combine green tech, green policy and greener public infrastructure with net zero buildings.
The undeniable green business agenda
These are exciting times because rolling these things out transparently across real estate makes vital business and environmental sense. Here’s why.
We already know the Sixth Carbon Budget has set top-level, binding carbon reduction goals. Working within this policy, early green tech adoption has myriad commercial advantages.
An obvious one is futureproofing against evolving policy. It’s a fair bet punitive taxes and measures against carbon will strengthen the housing sector as we step towards 2050. EPCs may well become tougher.
Equally, there is massive environmental and social governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) wins from getting on the green tech rollercoaster early. Developers will probably have to report more stringently on carbon into the future anyway, but their ESG and CSR reporting can benefit right now from using the most sustainable tech.
Plus, greener tech is more modern. It’s simply better by definition than legacy options, it’s more recently designed, more reliable and more advanced. Costs on sustainable tech are falling and they are only going in one direction; lower. All good news for affordable, sustainable buildings.
Early adoption of policy and technology
It might seem early in the day, but the thoughtful money might well place bets on greener tech swiftly outrunning legacy options both in the housing sector and beyond. Change is coming, whether legacy tech providers and users like this or not.
Nonetheless, we must ensure we assess all disruptive tech against the right carbon criteria; embodied, operational and organisational, then we can be encouraged that it’s fit for net zero.
I look forward to the day when every UK building, home and office is packed with sustainable technology, made from the most sustainable materials and plugged into an advanced, responsive, intelligent infrastructure too.
