Skip to content

Sustainability

Making informed decisions to mitigate negative environmental impact

With the built environment estimated to be responsible for around 40% of global carbon emissions, RICS is championing sustainable practices across the built and natural environment. We are also empowering professionals to embed sustainability considerations into the way they work and better measure environmental impacts.

RICS & the UN global compact

The built environment plays a pivotal role in managing and mitigating climate risk, especially with construction, operation and decommissioning of buildings being carbon-intensive practices. As a participant of the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, RICS is committed to its Ten Principles and the wider UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), driving awareness and action to address the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges in the land, construction, real estate and infrastructure sectors.

Our latest Communication on Engagement report for the UN Global Compact highlights the key projects that represent some of the actions RICS has taken to drive a more sustainable future in the built and natural environment.

Download the Report

Initiatives
Latest insights
Sustainability report 2021
COP 26

Initiatives

ICMS

ICMS 3

A world first for cost and carbon management in construction from concept to completion and beyond.

Race to zero: Decarbonising the built environment

Built Environment Carbon Database

A group of industry bodies including RICS have collaborated to develop the Built Environment Carbon Database (BECD) for the UK, envisioned to become the main source of carbon estimating and benchmarking for the UK construction sector

construction blue prints

IBOS

IBOS is a data-led, people-centric, holistic standard benchmarking framework. It allows an asset to demonstrate its performance according to five defined and connected data pillars

Isle of Skye

International Land Measurement Standard

ILMS is an international principle-based standard for land and property information. Its adoption will reduce risk in land and real property surveying and promote better land governance, robust conveyancing, secure lending and land registration.

planning models pencils

Responsible Business Framework

Professionals working within the natural and built environment have a responsibility to the planet, to support and generate social value in their communities, and to be transparent in the way they deliver their services and report their performance.

office-highrise-pexels

Sustainability and ESG in commercial property valuation and strategic advice, 3rd Edition

This global guidance note provides a practical framework for delivering on sustainability and ESG investigation, and reporting requirements in professional valuation advice.

Latest insights

RICS joins launch of EU Policy Roadmap for climate neutral buildings

The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has today (24 May 2022) launched a bold new policy plan for the European Union to accelerate progress on decarbonising buildings and construction, one of the most heavily emitting sectors in the world.

What are organisations adopting to support the transition towards net zero?

As the need to engage with climate change and sustainable living becomes more and more urgent, the built-environment sector is seeking ways to support the transition towards net zero.

Air pollution

RICS joins coalition to develop net zero verification standard

With no viable path to net zero being achieved without tackling emissions in the built environment, RICS has joined a coalition of built environment and real estate bodies to develop a comprehensive and consistent approach to defining and verifying buildings as net zero.

Plants in an outdoor walkway

New agreement to boost sustainable construction management in Singapore

A new agreement between the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Trade and Industry Association (Singapore) (TIAS) will boost efforts to work more sustainably and drive carbon emissions down across the island.

The effects of data on sustainability, ESG, net zero and operational costs

How does the new RICS International Building Operation Standard (IBOS) support asset owners and occupiers to drive building performance and comply with legislation and other industry standards?

Sustainability report 2021

Thousands of commercial real estate and construction professionals from over 30 countries contributed to the World Built Environment Forum Sustainability Report 2021.

Key findings include

Client, investor and stakeholder demand is cited as the number one driving force behind the recent growth in ESG investments
Two-thirds of survey respondents note rising occupier demand for green and sustainable buildings; almost half report growth in demand for green leases.
Almost two-in-three respondents believe the industry must do more to minimise project waste; less than a quarter see impact on biodiversity as critical.

VIEW THE REPORT

COP 26

COP26 provides the opportunity to drive lasting change in decarbonising the sector. Chartered surveyors play a pivotal role in addressing the challenges of climate change by providing the data to drive decarbonisation across the whole lifecycle of the built environment.

Row of houses in the UK

Decarbonising starts at home with EnergyFact from Countrywide

Improving energy efficiency and decarbonising homes is essential to addressing the impact of climate change.

COP26 - what the profession needs to know from week two

Following from last week’s debrief of week one of COP26, this year’s Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, here what’s the profession needs to know from the second week of negotiations.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Delivering a net zero carbon office in Edinburgh for Aviva Investors

JLL were appointed by Aviva Investors to provide development agency advice and project manage the redevelopment of Rosebery House, Edinburgh, a 60,000 sq. ft building that is no longer fit for purpose.

Scaffolding

Pre-demolition audits: enabling sustainable decision-making in construction

Demolitions are a significant contributor to carbon emissions

Dilaps

The role of green dilapidations in transforming commercial property space

To support the drive toward net zero carbon and waste reduction, TFT has developed Green Dilapidations.

Edinburgh, Scotland

RICS Scotland sets out plans for COP 26

RICS Scotland is delighted to today set out further details of its COP26 activity over the coming weeks.

Fire

COP26: Building wildfire resilience in the UK

Chartered rural surveyor and forester, Rob Gazzard, shares his insights on the importance of building long-term resilience against wildfires in the UK

Satellite image of earth from space

WBEF COP26 Webinar Miniseries

Bringing the built environment together to build back better

Can high-energy data centres ever be carbon neutral?

Global data centres are being given ambitious environmental targets but it will take more than ‘blue sky thinking’ to turn the cloud green