The British Property Federation (BPF) has announced that it is developing plans for a Net Zero Pledge that will unite its members in decarbonising the built environment and achieving net zero by 2050
The British Property Federation (BPF) President has called for ‘radical collaboration’ across the property sector to accelerate information-sharing, learning and innovation; provide more support for smaller businesses, and tackle carbon emissions from the built environment.
The overall ambition is to achieve net zero and it hopes that all members will sign up to the BPF Net Zero pledge by June 2023.
Collaboration is key to decarbonising the built environment and achieving net zero
The BPF announcement was made at the UK Government Pavilion at MIPIM. The campaign has been designed to support all companies in the UK property sector, whether they are global institutions or just starting up. Smaller companies will be supported by connecting them with much bigger institutions.
The BPF believes that the way to unite its members in decarbonising the built environment and achieving net zero is by collaboration: sharing ideas, best-practice, real-time learnings. Only then can real estate acceleration accelerate the pace of change and drive innovation.
What does the BPF Net Zero Pledge ask of its members?
- Sign up to net zero targets and plans
- Commit to supporting the UN Race to Zero or similar initiatives by June 2023
- Share knowledge, expertise and research on an open-source basis
- Encourage radical collaboration across the sector
- Support each other, in particular the smaller businesses in the sector by leveraging the experience and expertise
Following this statement of intent the campaign will be launched formally at the BPF annual conference in June 2022.
‘The latest report from the UN makes for serious and sober reading – we must act now’
President of BPF and global head of sustainability services & ESG at JLL, Guy Grainger, 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.
“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.”
‘The real estate sector has a critical role to play in tackling the climate crisis’
Melanie Leech, chief executive of British Property Federation, 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.”
