Climate change is no longer a ‘next generation’ threat; it’s on our doorstep impacting many different aspects of our lives, not least within the property sector.
Buildings are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and the effects of climate change are posing considerable risks to property values and future habitability. It is now undeniable that our sector needs to adapt.
“The property sector is a big part of the problem, as today, 40% of greenhouse gas emissions come from our buildings. If left unchecked, this is set to double by 2050.”
– Chris Loaring, Group Sustainability Director, Landmark Information Group
To understand how the property industry is starting to adapt, Landmark conducted comprehensive market research of 150 senior level employees working in estate agency, residential conveyancing, and mortgage lending across England, Scotland and Wales. Our findings have helped us gauge the growing commitment towards sustainability, and how we can help support and nurture this further.
The consensus from the industry
Our report, “Climate change in the property sector: a cross-market perspective,” takes a thorough dive into the findings:
Growing concern
Climate change is no longer a distant threat. A significant majority of property professionals (72%) recognise the urgent need to address its impacts. This growing awareness is driving a shift towards sustainable practices within the industry.
Client awareness
Property professionals said that clients are increasingly concerned about the potential effects of climate change on their property purchases. Flooding (60%), energy efficiency (58%), and local planning (56%) are among the top priorities for homebuyers. As climate risks become more apparent, these concerns are influencing decision-making processes.
Shifting practices
The property industry is adapting to the changing climate, and more professionals are actively advising clients. For example, mortgage lenders are, on average, advising 48% of their clients on potential climate change risks to their property, a similar number can also be seen from estate agents (49%).
Room for improvement
While the industry is making progress, there is still room for improvement. Less than 60% of conveyancing firms are currently on track to meet carbon emission targets. This highlights the need for continued efforts to reduce the industry’s environmental impact.
Encouragingly, more businesses have created net zero strategies (76%, up from 52% in 2023). Conveyancers have made significant progress, with 48% having published their own strategies. This is a demonstrable sign at just how much positive momentum towards solutions the industry is taking when it comes to the fight against climate change.
Download our report
To gain a deeper understanding of the trends and insights from our research, download your copy of ‘Climate change in the property sector: a cross-market perspective‘ here:
*World Green Building Council report: Embodied Carbon – World Green Building Council (worldgbc.org)
The strong winds and torrential rains of Storm Babet made landfall on 18 October 2023. Storm Babet was named after a woman who visited a Dutch weather agency KMNI open day and asked for her name to be used “because [she] was born during a storm.”
Discover the Meteorological Insights
What was the human impact?
• 7 killed
• 2,146 properties flooded
• 100,000 people affected by power cuts
Most affected: East Scotland, Derbyshire, North Wales, County Cork.
Environment Agency (EA) confirmed 100,000 properties were protected with 20 high-volume pumps and five small-volume pumps deployed across several sites. EA’s flood warning service sent out over 300,000 messages by email, telephone and text during Storm Babet.
The impact on businesses
Inchcape JLR dealership in Derby, which opened in 2019 on the city’s former cattle market, closed due to damage
caused by the River Derwent flooding.
It was reported that despite Environment Agency concerns the “dealership would end up under two metres of water – or more – in a ‘one in 100-year’ flood,” Derby City Council had approved the development.
Landmark pulled an Argyll Environmental report on the dealership’s site, and the data is clear: the development site was at moderate to high risk of flooding with moderate groundwater, surface pluvial and other factors putting it at risk of flooding.
There is even considerable history of flooding in this location, which would make insuring the plot challenging– and certainly expensive.
Discover Landmark’s analysis of this site.
Article originally published by Landmark Information Group.
Our recent webinar ‘The Law Society Guidance on the Impact of Climate Change on Solicitors: What does this mean for solicitors?’ is now available to watch on demand.
The webinar, hosted by Landmark, focussed on The Law Society Guidance on the Impact of Climate Change on Solicitors, and was originally shown on the 4th May.
The webinar was specifically designed for solicitors as a tool to help them understand the guidance and its implications.
The session covers two main areas of the guidance.
- Firstly, reducing the climate change impact of the law firm and its clients, which includes assessing annual carbon emissions and setting targets to achieve net zero by 2050.
- Secondly, the guidance examines climate change risks, including the duties of advising and warning clients about such risks.
Our distinguished speakers are Kirsty Green-Mann, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Burges Salmon LLP, Professor Robert Lee at Birmingham University, and Simon Boyle, Environmental Lawyer at Landmark.
AGENDA:
- Summary of the Law Society Guidance and what this means for solicitors’ advice
- What’s the role that a law firm plays in reducing its carbon footprint and disclosing climate-related risks and opportunities?
- An overview of how Burges Salmon has implemented Net Zero
- Panel Discussion: What are the requirements for lawyers to fulfil the guidance and next steps for them
- Q&A
To watch the webinar on demand, please visit this page, and fill in the form.
This survey and guide reveals how a desire for more information about climate and the environment may start changing residential conveyancing processes.
The transition to Net Zero is a long term goal, but it’s clear home movers are factoring climate change into their decisions now. Our parent company Landmark’s survey shows there’s already a desire for more data, earlier in the process. It’s a revealing snapshot.
Download the guide to find out:
- Residential conveyancers views on who is responsible for advising on climate change
- The percentage of home movers prepared to invest in energy efficiency measures
- How agents and conveyancers are handling the need for a Net Zero strategy
- What percentage of firms are reporting on future climate change risks to their clients
Residential estate agents and conveyancers are trusted to source the right information at the right time. This survey shows that many firms want more guidance from authoritative organisations on the provision of climate change information to home movers.
Landmark Information Group provides climate data to colleagues working in every part of the property industry’s value chain. Our work includes surveys and reports like this one, surfacing insights on subjects such as Climate Change, Digital Transformation, and the Home Mover Experience.
Download the guide, understand colleagues’ views on reporting around climate change and information exchange with vendors and purchasers.
Complete the form, we’ll send our guide – View on Climate Change Information in Residential Conveyancing – straight to your in-box.
Introducing the Landmark Climate Change Report: Helping property professionals, property investors and businesses to understand how climate change could impact a property.
It is highly important to start reporting on climate change and the numbers can prove it:
- 2022 was officially the warmest year on record for the UK (Source: BBC)
- Large-scale action in all sectors of the economy will be required, including tackling emissions generated by the building stock, which accounts for 31% of our national emissions. (Souce: Gov.uk)
- 25 percent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to the built environment. (Source: parliament.uk)
The Landmark Climate Change Report is a desktop report, designed to enable property professionals to understand how climate change could impact a given residential or commercial property. Unlike other reports in the market, it benefits from understanding the concerns of both:
- Physical risks [flooding, subsidence, heat stress, coastal erosion]
- Transition risks [energy performance]
The report is property specific, based on a UPRN, and doesn’t stop with providing just data; delivered in an intuitive format Landmark Climate Change Report gives property professionals the ability to inform clients with advice and recommendations relating to climate change.
Who is this report for?
The Landmark Climate Change Report is for real estate lawyers and residential conveyancers¿ who want to provide best practice due diligence and inform their clients on future climate change risks
The report gives the ability to inform on short, medium and long-term physical and transitional climate-related risks for a specific property with advice and recommendations if appropriate, delivered in an intuitive format unlike current reports in the market which provide unsupported data and little explanation in every environmental report, regardless of requirements.
Further reading
Landmark asked leading experts in their property-related fields to contribute to a white paper, which sets out the physical and transitional risks that the industry faces – and proposes workable solutions to the challenge of reporting on and responding to the risks.
Read the executive summary of the Landmark Climate Change white paper here
Additionally, you can also check out a series of Landmark blog posts here:
- A duty to warn of climate-related risks
- How property lawyers can act now on climate change
- Reflections at the end of COP 27
- Climate change: there is no time left for prevarication or procrastination
- Climate change: you can’t fix what you don’t measure