The factors holding office landlords back from improving sustainability

Over the past few months, we’ve been unveiling findings from our latest research, conducted in partnership with the Instant Group, on the state of sustainability in the UK office market. This time, we’re pleased to reveal some fascinating findings on the factors that are holding office landlords back from improving sustainability. 

But before checking this out, why not go back to our previous blog on what's pushing office landlords to go green? 

We asked 250 commercial landlords with office buildings in the UK a whole host of questions on sustainability. On energy efficiency, approximately one-in-two landlords report either difficulty in keeping up with regulations (49%), the cost being too high (49%), or lacking the expertise to make effective improvements (53%). 

In fact, a knowledge gap proved a consistent theme throughout the research but, at the same time, landlords demonstrated great self-awareness and readiness to meet this challenge, with 47% agreeing that they require help to shape their environmental policies. 

The study also revealed that many landlords are proactively seeking to address this, with 92% having either already outsourced the implementation or development of sustainability policy to a third party (19%) or planning to do so in the future (73%). Of those in the planning stages, 45% say they will do this in 2023 while 28% say they will do so in 2024 or beyond. 

Here’s the full findings:

• 49% of landlords agree it is difficult to keep up with regulations on energy efficiency standards
• Similarly, 49% agree it is too costly to improve a commercial property’s energy efficiency 
• Even more (53%) are unsure how to effectively improve the energy efficiency of their office buildings 
• Meanwhile, 92% of landlords have either already outsourced or plan to outsource the implementation/development of sustainability policy to a third party

Sam Pickering, Executive Director of Sustainability at Incendium (part of The Instant Group) said: “Navigating policy changes and implementing sustainability measures is a significant challenge for the entire commercial real estate sector. Operational energy efficiency of our offices is a key contributor to global carbon emissions and implementing sustainability measures is critical to ensuring we reach net zero targets. Education and collaboration will be vital components of improving the energy efficiency of our office stock, much of which runs the risk of becoming obsolete in just a couple of years. Working with a third-party specialist is a logical step for landlords to take, as they can effectively develop and implement policies. Bringing greater transparency into the sector, through increased data sharing, as well as greater clarity on regulations will also help landlords in their efforts to decarbonise.”

Wybo Wijnbergen, infinitSpace’s CEO, added: “Undoubtedly, office landlords face huge challenges in moving toward a sustainable sector. Creating energy-efficient workplaces must be at the heart of any sustainability strategy, particularly over the short term, so it is deeply concerning to see that around half of landlords report challenges with cost, changing regulations, or lack of expertise in making this crucial step.  

“Yet, landlords can hardly be blamed for these challenges. With technology, especially green tech, undergoing constant evolution and environmental benchmarks rising all the time, it is no surprise that landlords are struggling to get to grips with sustainability on their own. At the same time, their proactive response in seeking partners provides firm hope for the future of the UK office market. 

“By partnering with a flexible workspace provider, landlords can leave the hassle of developing and implementing sustainability policies to the experts, and rest easy knowing that proposals will be presented within budget, all the while helping to boost revenues through the consistent demand for flexible workspaces”.

Get in touch with the infinitSpace team today to discuss how you can overcome the barriers to making your office more sustainable!