As ideas of circular economy and materials reuse become established in the lexicon of architectural language, the ancient practice of Spolia is rightly back in the spotlight. Reusing components from existing, soon-to-be-demolished, or already deconstructed structures significantly reduces the need for manufacturing new components, in turn reducing the carbon cost of the building.

Shifting the status quo is vital to building more sustainably. The UK produces around 2 billion bricks a year which require high temperature kiln firing, considerably adding to CO2 emissions. Bricks are a familiar part of the UK landscape and often the go-to response by planners keen on replicating ‘context’ but a straightforward switch to natural stone bricks could be a game-changer for the future of sustainable construction.

Matt will explore the group’s sustainability strategy and its ripple effect on creating impactful, future-ready workplaces. Juliet and Tim will share insights from award-winning projects such as The Waterman and Alchemy Asset Management—illustrating how recycling, refurbishment, and collaborative funding platforms like Action Funder and Q Flow can reshape our impact on the environment.

Learn how B Corp certification serves as a catalyst for aligning purpose with profit through initiatives like Correx Recycling, and partnerships with charities such as London Air Ambulance, and leave inspired and equipped to take your first or next step toward sustainable leadership in your own organisation.

Discover practical insights, challenges, and successes as we prepare for the Standard’s Version 1 launch in late 2025, and inspire your journey toward net-zero retrofits.

But it’s not just about steel. The project embraces material reuse beyond the frame, with its façade partially constructed from existing Portland stone, further reducing embodied carbon. 30 Duke Street St James’s is targeting BREEAM ‘Outstanding’, WELL Platinum and NABERS UK 5-star.

Join the project team panel discussion to explore:

• Unlocking the project’s opportunities and overcoming challenges
• Scaling steel reuse across the industry
• The future of low-carbon, circular construction

SKArating was originally established in 2008, and has been undergoing a quiet metamorphosis - with new ownership, updated schemes and new offerings in the pipeline. The proposed changes are intended to reshape sustainability in the interior fit-out world to respond to an increasingly climate-aware fit-out industry with alignment to Net Zero, to be inclusive of full life-cycle thinking that delivers against client needs and to expand the sectors and countries that SKArating can be used in. 

This panel discussion includes clients, designers, board members, who use SKArating for a broad, honest and honest discussion, of the need and potential for such ratings in the interior fit-out industry.

Since COP28, Built by Nature has collaborated with the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership (FCLP), Bauhaus Earth, and other key partners to develop and refine these Principles. They have already been reviewed by governments, industry leaders, and NGOs, with initial feedback showing strong support. The Principles are now shaping the criteria for a new international buildings Prize. This panel will explore the Principles in more detail, examining how the industry can help apply them in real-world projects, and how broader endorsement can drive a just transition across the buildings value chain.

Data centres are also moving away from being an energy greedy neighbours and are poised to become net energy exporters to anticipated heat networks. A data centre can heat thousands of homes and their vertical forms can be a site for urban greening and the delivery of BNG. 

Our expert panel will reveal the opportunities presented by data centres. As this type of building proliferates how do we develop data centres to take advantage from their integration into our cities?

Learn about projects leading this market transformation and how to create opportunities for immediate, meaningful actions as we cover: 

• The enormity of the problem of pervasive chemicals and the impact to human health and wellness 

• The programs and processes available to verify healthy materials 

• How to set out key intervention points in the design and construction process to optimise for health outcomes

• Improve your own materials palette based on the resources and case studies shared 

However, despite there being a reuse potential for a typical building of anything from 10% - 80% (by weight), the reality for most projects is closer to less than 1%. This session will explore the evolving landscape of drivers in the UK and Europe – from new regulation, standards and planning regimes to the use of new digital technologies to drive reuse and the practical implementation of reuse onsite. It will show how collaboration, innovation and demonstration are starting to change the reuse and circularity landscape, but set a challenge to the industry to do more.

Our expert panel will discuss the barriers and opportunities in tracking and verifying materials, ensuring trust in reused products, and mitigating perceived risks. We’ll explore how new digital tools, data-driven decision-making, and innovative insurance models are helping to de-risk material exchanges and support a more circular approach. The session will also highlight real-world examples of collaboration across the supply chain – bringing together clients, contractors, and technology platforms to make reuse work at scale.

Attendees will gain practical insights into the evolving circular economy landscape, hearing firsthand about the challenges faced and the solutions emerging to embed reuse as a standard practice in the built environment.

What are the strategies and frameworks needed to create a construction supply chain that leaves no one behind, while addressing the challenges of sustainability, skills development, and inclusivity in the industry?

The session will delve into key case studies, best practices, and policy initiatives that show  how creating a resilient, fair, and future-proof construction sector can drive both economic growth and social justice.

• Market readiness: How the supply chain is developing 
• How to move businesses over to heatpumps
• How government is supporting businesses to enable change
• What’s the state of play in skills for installation and maintenance

Targeting WELL Core Platinum, Thirty High will provide the amenity space desired by modern office occupiers. The design team have aimed at achieving maximum performance improvement with minimum embodied energy emissions by retaining and upgrading the facade and improving airtightness with the project on track to achieve

 BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ and NABERS 5*. This 60-year old building demonstrates that revitalising an existing asset can deliver top-quality space at a fraction of the carbon emissions of new build.

In this panel, Oxford Properties, The Institute of Cancer Research, 3PM and GXN will debate how science occupiers move towards net zero. You will hear directly from scientists about how building owners can support behaviours that contribute to credible decarbonisation pathways. The panel is part of the Transforming To Zero initiative, which has engaged with key players in the UK science ecosystem through interviews, workshops, and ongoing conversations since 2022. 

An expert panel from across the design, construction and supply chain will present discuss examples, projects, technologies and experiences including:

• Collaboration and trials to study and share performance for placing the concrete, striking times and finishes of in situ, post-tensioned and precast concrete structure.
• Use of remote digital sensors for real time data collection on site.
• Expanding the availability of local low carbon resources for manufacture through new labs and testing facilities
• SISK’s Demonstrator Project at Wembley Park Development aiming to accelerate the commercial viability of low carbon cement

Place-based impact investing directs financial resources towards local initiatives that foster sustainable development, create jobs, and support community resilience. By investing in purposeful projects that are rooted in the unique needs and potential of specific regions, this approach ensures that the communities are empowered to fully participate in change. 

What are the ingredients for success that will future proof your investments?

Large housebuilders are partnering with or investing in timber frame manufacturing capacity to develop their own supply chain. With larger numbers of timber-framed houses being built in England than ever before our expert panel will explore what we can expect to see in the sector:

• How quickly can we expect the proportion of timber-framed houses in England to increase?
• What parts of the supply chain will need to grow and develop to keep up with the pace?
• What are the technical drivers for the growth in timber-framed houses?
• How quickly are we seeing the technology and specification developing?

Retaining 80% of the original structure’s concrete has minimised the CO2 emissions generated by the retrofit works. Fabric improvements and improvements to services will reduce operational energy consumption by 50%. Targeting BREEAM outstanding, EPC A rating and a NABERS 5 star rating will bring the building right up to date without compromising its status as a key Listed building in the historic Southbank composition.

General Demolition have been pioneering reuse at many sites, and using the Material Index platform have facilitated precise deconstruction and efficient storage methods, helping clients to meet their reuse targets. The team have also conducted deconstruction time trials, providing valuable cost-benefit insights to support informed decision-making.

British Land has been working with technology providers and sustainability focussed contractors such as Cast, implementing end-to-end reuse practices spanning from audits and material passports, to transferring material both internally and to the wider reclaim industry. 

Join our expert panel who will take you step-by-step through the process and show how digitisation allows parties to manage the process of deconstruction and onward material management leading to much higher levels of reuse.

The program has reviewed strategies such as data collection & analysis, understandings set points, stakeholder behaviour and engagement, technology solutions and many more. By examining and discussing learnings, this session will present real insights into sustainable building operations, reducing energy use, and driving positive impact.

Amin Taha’s Groupwork have designed a 10-storey block of flats in Finchley Road, north London, built with load-bearing larvikite stone from Lundhs quarry in Norway. Taha describes the project as 'the first 10-storey, loadbearing self-finished stone structure without steel reinforcement/secondary structure since the last stone cathedrals'. The Norwegian larvikite stone requires significantly less extraction, transportation, and on-site erection compared to typical concrete construction methods, resulting in reduced costs and lower embodied carbon.

• How is the council is using procurement to drive positive outcomes, creating green jobs and supporting local businesses?
• How can evolving systems help public authorities to rethink procurement, addressing environmental targets but also social justice?
• What are the challenges and opportunities in embedding a just transition into public procurement?
• What are the actionable insights for local authorities and organisations committed to making a fairer, green economy?

The client, plant and construction team will discuss key technologies such as:

• Flybrid flywheels – used on tower cranes, this innovative technology is adapted from F1, using a flywheel to store energy during “low” periods to use later, reducing fuel use by up to 50%.
• Electric plant was used on site, eliminating the risk of fuel spills, reducing noise and air pollution.
• The potential for electric tools and innovative battery storage to reduce fuel use.
• The use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in place of diesel, delivering >90% reduction in emissions.

The panel will discuss the benefits as well as the challenges, and go on to consider how this market may evolve further.

• a review of the objectives of MEES and what they are intended to achieve
• feedback on the findings of the consultation and how stakeholders continue to shape the proposals
• what will take place next to enable the regulation to be determined

Circularity was embedded at every stage, from establishing the organisation's strategy through to completion. This approach has resulted in a high-quality space showcasing circular solutions, all documented in a material passport.

Consultants Drees & Sommer will explain why circularity was viewed as a crucial component of the business proposition. Cast Interiors will describe how they delivered the circularity objectives outlined in the brief, while circularity platform Madaster will demonstrate how materials passports can both evidence the circularity of selected products and help achieve embodied carbon KPIs.

Building partnerships, funding and momentum: Our panellists will share valuable recent experience on building and keeping momentum for net zero, discussing partnerships and working across stakeholder groups, addressing the funding gap, and articulating local economic opportunities of net zero delivery.

• early engagement with contractor
• addressing information exchange with the insurance broker
• factors which will allow a more straightforward approach to fire design
• protection from moisture ingress

Multiplex and BHC, Heyne Tillett Steel worked collaboratively on the column designs to suit steel grade S460, which is 30% stronger than grade S355, enabling a reduction in the size and weight of the sections. With designs for columns at both S355 and S460, HTS and BHC engaged with EMR stocklists to match 87 tonnes of reclaimed steels to columns within the superstructure frame.  

The specification of ArcelorMittal electric arc furnace (EAF) over blast furnace steel plus the reclaimed sections have been used within the new frame, along with Xcarb Kingspan decking and fibre reinforcement in place of traditional mesh reinforcement where possible for the composite concrete floor slabs. This combination of innovative solutions has resulted in a reduction from 16,000 to 6,000tCO2.

Together with cement replacement options for the basement box and superstructure slab construction the combination of innovative steel procurement methods has resulted in an overall reduction of 143kgCO2e/m2.

Our expert panel asks what does this mean for the divers stakeholders in the property industry?

Aiming to make the decision-making transparent and democratically sound, PACER has been tested since its launch early 2025 during the assessment of a range of proposed projects. The panel will discuss how it works, the characteristics of the submission requirements and early outcomes found by its development partner Westminster City Council. In aiming to implement Retrofit First policies, how have the planning authority explored these digital tools and could this be a mechanism adopted by authorities around the UK?

The panel will feature Hrabrina Nikolova, Principal Sustainability Officer at Westminster City Council, alongside representatives from Preoptima and developers who have taken part in the pilot applications, who will discuss PACER’s potential as a nationwide mechanism for carbon assessment.

The carbon impact of a building from design to operation relies heavily on the plant and equipment installed and maintained as part of a project. 

Recognising the urgency to provide comprehensive carbon and energy information for achieving sustainability aspirations and future-proofing assets, Skanska is leveraging digital technology using their own smart building platform and advanced carbon calculation methods for plant and equipment. An expert panel will discuss:

• how to facilitate scrutiny and discussions with all stakeholders about carbon and operational energy performance throughout a building's lifecycle
• how digital tools and services can be used to assess a building's carbon impact from design through to operation
• how to achieve improved efficiencies through data-driven maintenance 

Utilising Orms’ materials passports research, the team have developed a reuse methodology for the development which has led to immense success in recovering materials for reuse and high-grade recycling. This includes recovery of 15,000 ceiling tiles, 72t stone and over 8,500 lights, every element of the building has been considered for reuse.

Building on the learnings from earlier projects has enable and created:

• an onsite reuse warehouse
• onward use with other developments
• onsite refurbishment of existing windows
• deconstruction and reuse of stone
• manufacturer takeback schemes

Working closely with City of London Council and participating in the ROMULUS research project, the project has so far facilitated reuse of 702t of materials removed from the original building. This is a true retrofit led building.

The team will describe key goals of the project which include:

• how to bring a contaminated, brownfield site back into use within the city 
• delivering a unique workplace offer for the life-sciences industry in Cambridge
• working with potential occupiers on the balance between operational energy demand and efficiency goals
• refining the range of potential performance, dependent on use, management regime and tenancy

The expert panel share insights into the operational performance and user experience of: 

• Tried and tested low carbon heating and cooling innovations  
• Exciting new ways Hilson Moran are using data for decision making and impact 

Resolving onsite reuse strategies should be the first objective for project teams, but when reuse on-site isn’t feasible, how do we work across projects to enable the circular economy? Can competitors become collaborators to deliver greater value for all and improve efficiencies beyond the project scope?

There are currently numerous disincentives to retrofit such as VAT, lack of regulation of embodied carbon and/or tax on carbon emissions through. What mechanisms should be employed to remove these obstacles, and whose job is it to do so? How can we have a profitable net zero property industry?

Having received certification this February the building has yet to be in operation a full year but there have been significant learnings to share:

• how to reduce heating and cooling demand through the design of the building
• how the scheme is reliant on the behaviours of occupants and how urbanest is working to educate its customers
• what the team have learnt through the process of mobilising and operating the building that wasn’t anticipated

The Team will explore how they worked with the brief and the massing on site to embed sustainable principles from the early days of the project. They will deep dive into the systematic carbon reduction procedure used throughout the project's design stages, resulting in the structural upfront embodied carbon (A1-A5) being reduced by nearly 50%, achieving a SCORS rating of C, beating the project targets for a typical low-carbon lab and saving ~20,000 tCO2e. And they will share their innovative approach to the construction stages of the project, implementing technologies such as turning demolished concrete from site into recycled aggregate and bathing it in liquid CO2 to sequester carbon into the slabs.

The LARA initiative is a collaboration where 4 pilot local authorities are working towards Local Retrofit Action Plans setting a blueprint for bespoke retrofit strategies that address the unique challenges and opportunities of each region.

Hear from UKGBC, MCS Foundation and CIVIC SQUARE as they explore:

• What “regenerative places” are
• How these principles can be implemented within our communities to decarbonise homes, public spaces and lifestyles
• The important role that individual stakeholder groups play
• How local networks can develop their own capacity and local supply chains to respond to the challenges, building on existing strengths and knowledge

This project embodies circular economy principles by being designed explicitly for durability, future disassembly, and material repurposing, departing from the linear 'take-make-dispose' model. Unlike schemes relying on existing structures, it rigorously addressed embodied carbon in a new build context, prioritising sustainable, biogenic (carbon-storing) materials throughout to ensure a low-impact building designed for a long life and eventual reuse.

Join the client and design team to hear firsthand how this healthy, adaptable workspace supports the business's growth, champions staff wellbeing, and provides a blueprint for truly sustainable development.

Plant — the ‘hanging gardens of Basingstoke’

Formerly Mountbatten House, the original 1970s vast-stepped modernist complex comprises six levels of commercial workspace with tiered roof gardens in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Fundamental to the revamped scheme are the celebrated cascading green garden terraces. The design team sought the sensitive restoration to improve biodiversity and urban greening and maximise the potential for adaptation within the existing structural fabric. Plant is an exemplar development for the evolution of a pioneering design intent to promote wellbeing and connection.

Zodiac — repurpose for social housing and community spaces

This ambitious re-use project transforms a neglected 1960s concrete complex in West Croydon into 73 thoughtfully designed, low-carbon homes for emergency housing. Rather than demolish, the developer sought to repurpose the abandoned buildings. The scheme integrates local amenity, courtyards, and social spaces and reimagines the derelict forecourt as a vibrant community garden. Zodiac’s revival sets a precedent for adaptation of underused assets — and for the provision of new housing from office space.

Come and hear from the teams at Zodiac and Plant, Basingstoke.

One of the largest heritage retrofits in Clerkenwell, The Waterman combines four industrial warehouses over 70,000 sqft into a single, modern-day workspace with distinct character. The buildings have been extensively retrofitted, resulting in an EPC A rated, market-ready space that aligns with modern occupier expectations.

In this panel the client, architect and contractor will explore the vision and execution of this complex project, and discuss the design and engineering strategies employed to create a high-quality, future-proofed workspace while enhancing the buildings' heritage identity. These include:

• Improving the thermal envelope
• Securing additional massing/floorspace within a sensitive conservation context
• Unlocking flexibility, efficiency and accessibility in a load-bearing masonry structure
• All-electric MEP installation
• Reusing existing materials

How can we upgrade valuable historic buildings to meet workspace tenant expectations while respecting the distinct characteristics of place?

This panel will explore how responsibilities for achieving net zero are likely to be shared across owners, landlords, tenants, and investors. Panelists bring a range of perspectives—from legal and capital markets to technology integration —to unpack what implementation could mean across the property lifecycle. Topics include:

• How the Standard might apply across different building types and uses
• Navigating uncertainty in early project stages
• What legal, financial, and technical communities can do to align and support adoption

Adam Whitfield and Emma-Jane Allen will explore role of ESG in mitigating the risks of exploitation within supply chains, emphasising the importance of transparency, due diligence, and responsible sourcing.

How can net-zero technologies can be developed and deployed without compromising human rights, holding industry players accountable? By examining real-world examples and regulatory frameworks, the speakers aim to shed light on the complexities of ensuring ethical labour practices in the race to achieve net-zero targets, offering practical guidance to those responsible for implementing in the built environment.

By dealing directly with clients and upskilling the existing deconstruction supply chain to provide a ‘cost and time’ effective solution, the industry can guarantee that end of life glass is being recovered back into new building glass. With contributions from architects, commercial developers and the public sector, this session will cover:

• An update on Saint Gobain's recycling processes, capabilities, and the lessons that have been learnt
• The importance of closed loop recycling in relation to the decarbonisation of the glass industry and the production of lower-carbon glass
• Stewardship of natural resources, especially sand.
• How to tackle the obstacles to circularity
• Why early engagement and collaboration are vital to successful end of life glass recovery

Our expert panel will share their experiences of delivering heat networks, and explore the impact of zoning and of new regulations on real estate and what this will mean for developers, investors and the wider property sector.

• the opportunity to refine building heating strategies and cut energy usage
• feedback on operating practices and how to monitor changes 
• reduction in claims from occupiers and reduced insurance premiums

Experts from the International WELL Building Institute and selected clients join Butterfly Air to discuss how monitoring air quality has benefitted asset managers and building users.

• How to understand the link between project-level WLCAs and organisation-level emissions reporting
• How using WLCAs within Scope 3 reporting could improve the overall accuracy of emission reporting in accordance with GHG Protocol
• Why widespread WLCAs are necessary to focus industry’s emissions reduction efforts on the critical areas, the construction and operation of built assets

Hear from key stakeholders working to implement these procedures within their businesses and the effects that doing so is having for the wider construction industry.

Chairperson

Simon Joe Portal, Head of Engineering & Sustainability – UK - Drees & Sommer

With different approaches from three developers, this presentation will discuss both direct and tangential benefits of social value creation. Is social value the new philanthropy and could it signal a change to S106 contributions?

This session will  provide clarity on how to implement net zero retrofit, illustrate the opportunities available from transitioning less-efficient assets towards net zero and show both asset owners and occupiers how to benefit from the process in the short, medium and long-term.

Using Circular Economy principles has been key to minimising embodied carbon; there have been challenges and successes. A low-carbon timber extension would have significantly increased embodied emissions due to the fire protection measures necessary and over-cladding existing facades was unviable due to the poor structural condition. However, successes have included salvaging steel from the original building, enabling the addition of four storeys without any foundation strengthening and a thorough deconstruction process ensured 96% of the existing structure is retained along with other elements.

Uno also demonstrates the challenge to resolve the demands of NABERS accreditation alongside TM54 and TM65 within a heritage building.  Ultimately these analyses result in an improved building through:

• striking a balance with the thermal upgrade to the envelope
• reduced energy in-use
• increased user comfort 

In this session we demonstrate how measuring carbon emissions at each design stage ensures that decisions are taken in an informed manner for the lowest carbon project overall.

Higher Education is moving on from that model to give existing buildings and campuses a new lease of life. This approach retains and enhances the character of its campuses for generations to come making best use of existing buildings, saving demolition and the embodied carbon burden that entails.

In this session we hear from the groups, organisations, businesses and landowners creating and developing landscapes and green spaces that boost wellbeing, increase resilience and bring a bit of happiness and joy to those that use them, whilst also delivering biodiversity improvement and help to combat climate change.

How can we ensure that the complex ecosystems on which life depends are not depleted? How can construction businesses invest in natural capital and what are the some of positive outcomes?

This session will focus on the findings of a novel digital project completed by Morgan Sindall Construction and their partners to re-consider how a secondary school that they completed in 2021 could be re-imagined as a regenerative asset. The project specifically identified the socio-economic impacts arising from renewable processes and products. What are the implications for supply chain, communities, government and individuals?

Retrofitting holds the promise of reducing carbon emissions, energy consumption and utility expenses, but what are the actual reductions being achieved?

A successful retrofit can enhance indoor air quality and thermal comfort, but is this happening in reality?

We know that retrofitting incurs significant costs, but what exactly are our expenditure figures and what financial savings will the client and occupier realise?

Join SRE and Savills Investment Management who aim to answer these questions and more by measuring the impacts of retrofitting the award-winning Cathedral Hill Industrial Estate, Guildford.

This session will cover key factors involved in the retrofit, from initial client objectives, the process itself, outcomes and how what has been learned can apply equally to retrofit and new build projects. 

What solutions work for our older housing stock?

Retrofit Balsall Heath is a project overcoming these hurdles, where 649 houses have been retrofitted using Local Authority Delivery Phase 3 funding at no cost to the homeowners. Harnessing the economies of scale that contractors can offer the backbone of the programme stems from engagement with building owners and occupiers to build understanding and confidence in the scheme. 

Within the social rented sector, the HACT’s Retrofit Credits project presents an alternative approach to solving the funding issue. HACT tracks carbon-emission reduction and measures the social value impact from retrofitting dwellings, certified under the Verified Carbon Standard and sells these to businesses who have taken steps to decarbonise their businesses and wish to further offset their emissions. Currently the funding is used to help housing associations and local authorities retrofit properties alleviating fuel poverty and improving unhealthy and energy inefficient homes. 

With 17% of emissions coming from residential building in the UK, the sector has fallen behind due to a mix of lack of funding and uncertainty that the public feel about what they should do. Come and hear how these two projects are facilitating housing retrofit and what these tools could mean to reduce carbon emissions from the built environment.

Engaging a design team to appraise your portfolio for extensions opportunities can be time consuming and costly. 

A new free, open access digital tool is being developed to enable property owners and asset managers to do this for themselves. Hear from the designers of the tool on the objectives and the level of detail needed as input to the tool and watch a live demonstration of the process in action.

• What are the factors that have expanded the use of timber-framing for housing in Scotland? Are they replicable throughout the UK?
• What are the implications for decarbonisation of the overall housebuilding industry?
• What are the options for multi-family apartment buildings available today?
• How can we regulate to support low-carbon structure for new build housing?

At the heart of stone construction there is a very low carbon footprint, with no heating/cooking process required, very little water needed, with a nose to tail approach including all the wonky bits for a 100% yield of the extracted material.

Chairperson

Regenerative thinking goes beyond merely lessening the harm of new development; it strives to leverage design and construction as positive forces that repair natural and human systems. This means transitioning from the traditional sustainability focus on "doing less bad," towards "doing more good".

To help achieve their goal, the new college buildings utilised Passivhaus design while the refurbishment of the existing Victorian villa employed EnerPhit principles. Join the expert panel as they discuss:

• How do we preserve the character and condition of existing buildings while carrying out deep refurbishments?
• How do we build high-density accommodation on a heavily constrained site while limiting embodied carbon and optimising building form?
• What does a new Passivhaus building look like in a conservation area?
• What modern materials and methods of construction can be used to ensure low carbon outcomes?
• How do we achieve a significant biodiversity net-gain on a restricted and already bio-diverse site?

This session will introduce the definition of Climate change resilience and adaptation including the SFDR and the EU Taxonomy, requirements including:

•  to review the risks to individual assets or entire funds for their physical, reputation and transitional risks associated with climate change in accordance with TFCD and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures
• to produce risk reduction plans and implementation strategies to future proof assets, funds, and portfolios

Mayfield School's Health & Wellbeing Centre integrates natural materials such as stone and timber in an innovative and sustainable way, with a special focus on the revolutionary use of low-carbon stone brick. Addressing not only the physical and psychological needs of students the building serves as an educational tool on sustainability. Spatial and material considerations result in a design that is warm, protective, and conducive to mental well-being.

Substituting traditional fired clay brick with stone brick delivers an 86% reduction in carbon emissions. The stone brick's cutting process, powered by renewable electricity, offers flexibility in size and shape. Strength and size advantages open doors to larger format units, enabling the use of single stone blocks for lintels and monumental slabs for entrance portals.

Retention and reposition of the existing building was the preferred scheme option taken forward, and the project achieves Practical Completion in Q1 2024. This session looks to explore the rationale behind the preferred scheme option, sustainability success and how this fed into attracting a significant anchor letting to compete with new build office product in the vicinity. 

The results of this research have informed subsequent discussions around the cumulative embodied carbon impact of Cat B Fit Out projects, which is the subject for this panel discussion. 

• establishing the trade-off between operational and embodied carbon costs of different solutions
• replacement of glazing, thermal elements and cladding materials
• early engagement with contractors 

Speakers

Haydn Keen, Business Development Director - RSK

Jon Davies, Director - RSK Wilding

Join Workplace Futures Group, Modus and Lifeproven to debate the influence of ESG on the rapidly evolving landscape of real estate investments, and reveal how to develop a robust ESG strategy that focuses on enhancing both the financial and impact performance over time. 

This session will cover several key factors involved in implementing and maintaining a successful ESG strategy through all key real estate stages; including pre-acquisition due diligence, design and funding targets, engaging key stakeholders to understand the additional value you deliver for them,  procuring the right contracting team to deliver your strategy, capturing key ESG data through construction and operation, and also leveraging the right information to drive rental or sales demand.

Speakers

Speakers

What is the future for planning policy in evaluating retrofit and new build proposals?

Chairperson

• Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment
• Disassembly and Adaptability Study
• Global Warming Potential Study

Monitoring throughout the detailed design and construction phases by the contractor, supply chain and wider project team will be used to verify the outcomes up to practical completion. These evaluations are critical in informing the Taxonomy Specification and ultimately fulfilling the regulatory requirements of an article 8 or 9 fund. 

Chairperson

• the incorporation of specialist knowledge in the early stages of a project
• the importance of strategic delivery approaches across key stakeholder groups
• mitigation of risks earlier in the development stages    

Richard Bartlett, Pre-Construction Director - Willmott Dixon

Speakers

Kelly Crews, Head of Decarbonisation - Willmott Dixon

Join the panel as they discuss the data challenges across different asset classes:

• exploring the importance and use of energy data in reaching net zero and the role of technology 
• highlighting good practice with case studies
• exploring perceptions around the role of landlords in sharing data
• the development of policies around energy consumption data

Speakers

How do we identify and overcome the stumbling blocks in insurance, warranties and other barriers?

Speakers

• improvements to building fabric while retaining as much of the historic facades as possible 
• the design, approvals and insurance procedures needed to build out of exposed mass timber
• delivering amenity-rich, sustainable workplaces for occupiers

• the history and development of Local Law 97, and what it requires from buildings
• its effect on the approach to design being taken by developers, institutions and the building industry in general
• its relation with energy code requirements and voluntary certifications like LEED
• its specific impact on the development of key ongoing projects

In this session we will explore, with those who have done it, the process of measuring true Scope 3 in the construction industry. Panellists will talk about how about their personal experience tackling the measurement of Scope 3 in their organisations, offer practical guidance and offer a call to arms for the industry to embrace the Scope 3 challenge.

Speakers

GGBS is a finite resource. What should developers and specifiers know about making the best use of the limited supply to drive down the carbon emissions of concrete?

Limestone fines and calcined clays are abundant resources. They can be used separately or in combination (as "LC3") to deliver carbon savings on a similar level to a high-GGBS mix concrete. Some concretes using these can achieve as much as a 50% lower carbon footprint than ordinary "CEM I" concrete. What are the realities of using these products in the UK and what is the potential to scale production to meet demand?

Speakers

Speakers

Speakers:

Hear from leading UK developers on their emerging strategies to make retrofits a desirable and viable proposition on the market.

Chairperson

Chris Newman, Zero Carbon Design Manager - Mitsubishi Electric

Speakers

Ben Cross, Creative Real Estate Developer

Tim Heatley, Co-Founder - Capital & Centric

Younha Rhee, Technical Director - Atelier Ten

Suki Gilliland, Sustainability Director - Energy - Landsec

This session will explore the SFDR and the EU Taxonomy, and what they mean to investors, asset managers and developers, discussing how to:

• review and understand the current performance of their assets, funds, and portfolios
• produce comprehensive sustainability strategies for new developments, decarbonisation plans for existing assets, and climate resilience strategies for their portfolios
• reduce risk and abate risk insurance premiums and devaluation
• create opportunity for cost-effective capital funding to access and attract finance

Speakers

Simon Wyatt, Partner, Sustainability - Cundall

Darren Berman, Associate Director - Cundall

Helen Newman, Director of Sustainable Investing - Fabrix

Emily Hamilton, Head of ESG - Savills IM

Julie Townsend, Executive Director - ESG Lead Europe & Asia - PGIM Real Estate

Chairperson

Heather Evans, National Head of Sustainability - Rider Levett Bucknall

Speakers

Julie Godefroy, Head of Net Zero Policy - CIBSE

Adam Baranowski, Head of Climate Action & Investment - Better Buildings Partnership

Fabrizio Varriale, Place & Space Analyst - RICS

How can we develop consistent carbon modelling and establish a consensus on the approach to be used?

How do these figures need to be updated as methods evolve?

Chairperson

Ben Marston, Director - Jestico + Whiles

Speakers

Alex Benstead, Senior Advisor - UKGBC

Johanna Jarvinen, Business Development Manager - One Click LCA

The Green Taxonomy Advisory Group provide an update on progress since last year and answer all your questions about its’ implications once implemented.

In this session we ask what has changed to enable the use of timber in these buildings and chart a possible trajectory for the growth of timber as a carbon-negative structural material in the commercial sector.