Tech drives push towards net zero

Real estate professionals have had a dramatic conversion in the last 12 months towards the principle of achieving net zero, according to our polling.

While the concept was barely understood two years ago – and industry experts were taken aback by initial global ambitions to achieve net zero by 2040 or 2050, the real estate sector has been galvanised into action by its investors and occupiers and is now looking to hit its targets by 2030-2035. Technology has to be at the heart of this: stakeholders from across the real estate world now have the motivation, financially and ethically, to create and utilise technology that can help create greener buildings.

In the last year the biggest players in UK real estate, including Aviva Investors, British Land, Landsec and SEGRO, have set bold targets to reach net zero, with most respondents expecting the real estate world to beat government targets by achieving net zero emissions by 2035 at the latest.