FOOTPRINT+ podcasts

Real estate fund managers need to address the challenges presented by UK and EU disclosure regulations relating to sustainability: a dual regulatory horizon.  From July 2024 the UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) regime has been mandatory for UK-authorised funds for UK retail investors. Since March 2021 the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) applies to any fund marketed...

Heat networks are moving from niche infrastructure to a core component of the UK’s heat decarbonisation strategy. With new regulations now in force – and more to come, including on technical standards and heat network zoning—the implications for real estate developers and operators are immediate and significant. This session provides an overview of the key regulatory changes and explores what thes...

Retrofitting commercial buildings is critical to reducing energy use and carbon emissions, yet delivering viable projects remains complex. No two buildings, clients, or regions are the same, and a business case that works in London may not stack up in Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, or other regional markets. Local economics, regulations, asset values, and investor expectations all influence re...

How can different construction stakeholders work together to ensure best reuse of high-quality aluminium? Exploring the circular approach adopted on a major student‑accommodation redevelopment, we highlight how the client, main contractor, consultants and the aluminium manufacturer worked together to enable material recovery and responsible reuse. The speakers will discuss: respecting the existing...

ROOT to Market is a dynamic procurement marketplace designed to help the property sector deliver projects with greater transparency, impact and long-term value. Unlike traditional, one-off tendering models, ROOT to Market is a perpetually open and flexible platform aligned with the RIBA Plan of Work enabling commissioners and project teams to engage trusted, pre-approved supply chain partners at e...

As the industry accelerates towards low‑carbon delivery, the tension between cost and carbon is reshaping project value. This panel brings together cost consultants, contractors, manufacturers and circularity specialists to examine how market forces, funding and client priorities influence decision‑making. Alongside take‑back and reuse schemes, the manufacturer perspective highlights how high‑qual...

In shallow and illiquid markets, developers face a distinct challenge: how to future-proof existing assets while protecting returns and maintaining flexibility in the business plan. This session explores how targeted retrofitting strategies can unlock value in standing buildings, aligning environmental performance with commercial outcomes rather than treating sustainability as a cost centre.  Focu...

Solar power is becoming a central pillar of the UK’s decarbonisation and clean energy strategies, with Government committed to trebling solar capacity by 2030. For commercial real estate investors and developers, this creates a significant opportunity. Falling costs, improving performance and rapid innovation from high-efficiency panels to on-site storage and smart energy management are changing h...

Why does the hospitality industry accept that perfectly good interiors will be ripped out and burnt or buried? It is a catastrophic failure to plan for a completely predictable outcome, and it costs developers, operators and the planet. In this session, James Goldsmith of Sibley Grove joins Nick Harrison of Design Foundry and Gerry Byrne of Castlebrook to challenge the status quo. The panel will a...

The range of low-carbon and circular concrete solutions is growing rapidly  from novel binders and recycled aggregates to new design and specification approaches. Yet adoption on live projects often lags behind technical feasibility. This session explores how developers, designers and contractors can bridge that gap and accelerate real-world delivery. Drawing on practical project experience, we wi...

38 Finsbury Square is a major retrofit delivering 52,000 sq ft of future-ready workspace in the heart of London. The project is defined by an ambitious and genuinely holistic sustainability brief, balancing environmental performance, social value and commercial viability. Alongside targeting BREEAM Outstanding, enabling WELL Platinum and progressing through the IDR process towards a NABERS target,...

In a volatile and uncertain market, the underwriting process is often undertaken when limited information is available about the true cost and risk implications of future modernisation, decarbonisation and certification requirements.   This session explores how design teams can better support investors during underwriting by translating incomplete early-stage data into meaningful, robust analysis....

Timber Square is redefining how sustainable workplaces can be designed, delivered, and adapted for the future. Driven by a commitment to minimise whole-life carbon, the project integrates innovative structural solutions, material reuse strategies, and forward-thinking design principles to achieve significant environmental gains whilst delivering best-in-class facilities for a global headquarters o...

How does the environment impact our physical and mental health? Over the past two decades, our understanding of health and wellbeing has deepened, driven by scientific breakthroughs and a growing awareness of how the built environment shapes our bodies and minds. The global pandemic further underscored the urgency of better understanding the role that the design of neighbourhoods and cities plays...

FUSE (Flexible Upgradeable Sustainable Ecosystem) reframes science space as a platform: a high‑performing workplace that can be upgraded when needed. By avoiding day‑one overspecification, it reduces embodied and operational carbon, shortens delivery, and stays cost‑accessible. Structure, services and fabric are aligned around a lean baseline that can be enhanced through clear pathways - whether a...

Ensuring supply chain solidity requires a continual focus on upstream activities, whose environmental and social impacts are often underestimated. For most companies, Scope 3 emissions account for over 90% of their footprint, making supplier selection a critical strategic decision. Through practical cases, this session explores how solidity is embedded across primary value chains and extended to s...

The retrofit of Broadgate Tower reimagines a key building in one of London’s iconic office estates. Originally completed in 2008, the project aims to deliver a best-in-class, sustainable workplace that responds to its unique location between Shoreditch and the City, while retaining the tower’s architectural prominence. Central to the scheme is a strong sustainability philosophy rooted in retention...

As market conditions tighten and buyer scrutiny increases, preparing a real estate asset for exit has become more complex than timing alone. This session explores how liquidity is now shaped not just by location and income, but by sustainability credentials and future readiness. We will examine whether ESG performance is a decisive factor in pricing and deal velocity, or simply a threshold require...

Beginning with the IoD PBE’s usual 'Quarterly Economic Update', this panel session will explore how our push toward net zero creates opportunities across the value chain, not only for businesses, but also for communities and society. As noted in a recent report by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit and the Confederation of British Industry, The Future is Green, the net zero economy is grow...

From target to delivery, the greatest risks to carbon, energy and resilience performance often emerge not in design, but in contracts, procurement and execution. This session explores the persistent gap between design intent and operational reality, examining why projects so often fail to deliver what was promised.   It will consider how contractual structures, value engineering and supply chain d...

Orms will present the progress and emerging outcomes of their extensive research on materials passports. With industry templates recently released, and hosting an ongoing working group, the team have been testing and applying work to live projects. It moves the conversation forward from material salvage to practical application across projects of varying scale, from office fit-outs to more complex...

Theatr Clwyd is a cornerstone of North Wales’ arts scene, operating as a major producing theatre and regional cultural hub with a diverse estate of performance, rehearsal and support spaces. Developed incrementally over time, the aggregated buildings on the site are representative of many complex cultural and educational campuses across the UK, where varied construction types and intensive occupan...

Commercial interiors are stripped and refitted every five to seven years. The industry has developed serious tools to respond — materials passports, embodied carbon targets, circular economy frameworks. These matter. What they don’t address is whether a space is designed to last — and whether the people inside it would miss it if it were gone. This panel brings together three perspectives on a dif...

As ESG commitments move from aspiration to obligation, real estate investors face growing scrutiny around governance, disclosure and accountability. This session examines:  the evolving legal landscape of ESG compliance  the risks associated with inaccurate disclosure, inadequate oversight and poorly defined transition plans  director-level liability for ESG and transition planning and expectation...

UKGBC’s Regenerative Places programme aims to shift built environment practice towards more regenerative, place-based outcomes. Focusing on both retrofit and housing-led regeneration, the emerging Framework considers the pathways, actions and stakeholders needed to realise the long-term potential of regenerative approaches, and support healthier, more fulfilling, and resilient places for all.  How...