- Published date:
- 30 September 2026
This year’s Sustainability Conference, and our first as Real Estate:UK, proved to be our biggest and best yet!
Kindly hosted by PwC, the conference focused on a single theme: climate resilience and how we make our buildings, places and communities better prepared for the impacts of a changing climate.
The summer we’ve just had, with multiple heatwaves, droughts and wildfires, has brought climate risk and adaptation firmly into focus. While the industry has made real progress in reducing carbon emissions, there has been much less progress in adapting our buildings to a warmer, wetter and more extreme climate.
Preparing for a warmer world
The conference opened with Sophie Vipond (Climate Change Committee), who set out the risks associated with global warming and emphasised the importance of planning for a world that could be 2°C warmer by 2050 and potentially 4°C warmer by 2100, underlining the need for businesses to act now rather than react later.
Investor and occupier perspectives
We then heard valuable market perspectives from Cathy Keir (Savills Investment Management) and Kirsty Draper (JLL), who shared insights from investors and occupiers. By 2030, 74% of commercial real estate leaders expect to select only buildings that are resilient to climate-related events, and 94% of respondents to JLL’s UK Investor Survey are already implementing or considering climate risk mitigation and adaptation measures within their portfolios.
Domenico del Re (PwC), who was chairing this session, then introduced Grace Taylor (Grosvenor), who showcased the transformation of Grosvenor Square into a climate-resilient garden that delivers benefits for both visitors and the local community.
A roadmap for climate resilience
Simon McWhirter, Chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council, presented the organisation’s Climate Resilience Roadmap. Highlighting key risks including flooding, storms, drought, wildfires and overheating, Simon urged investors, developers and owners to begin strengthening resilience today rather than waiting for future regulation or market pressure. He also encouraged the industry to work together to drive policy and regulation to support the sector’s sustainability ambitions.
Energy security, resilience and sustainability
A panel chaired by Aneysha Minocha (Quantaco), with Chris Wright (Avison Young) and Sonal Jain (King’s Cross Group), explored the relationship between energy security, resilience and sustainability.
Drawing on practical experience from major developments and corporate estates, they discussed grid constraints, rooftop solar, energy price volatility and the benefits of combining multiple technologies. It was agreed that, as access to reliable, affordable and secure energy becomes increasingly critical, buildings that combine efficient design with on-site generation, battery storage and smart technologies will be best placed to protect asset value and support business continuity.
Net zero and transition finance
Former Energy Minister the Rt Hon Chris Skidmore OBE joined Chinyelu Oranefo (Lloyds) for a discussion on net zero, transition finance and sector transition plans. Chris shared lessons learned from being the minister responsible for the UK’s net zero commitment. On the day that the current Prime Minister restated his commitment to the net zero agenda, Chris’s insights proved extremely timely!
Building water resilience
The final session, chaired by Gordon Rogers (Places for London), featured Kimberly Markiewicz (JLL) and Phil Hirst (Greystar), who examined the growing challenge of water resilience. Kimberly highlighted that 6.3 million properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding, while Phil discussed the importance of water efficiency.
The panel reflected on how water management has historically received far less attention than energy. However, as water becomes an increasingly scarce and expensive resource in many markets, the business case for water efficiency and resilience is rapidly strengthening. The progress many organisations have made on energy management demonstrates that effective resource management can deliver both environmental and commercial benefits.
Shaping our sustainability priorities
Delegates also played an active role in shaping the discussion through a series of table exercises. Climate resilience and adaptation emerged as the sector’s leading sustainability priority, with policy advocacy, industry convening and practical research identified as the areas where RE:UK can deliver the greatest value to members.
Thank you again to PwC, including our host Rob Walker, our speakers and everyone who contributed to such an insightful, thought-provoking and engaging day. We look forward to continuing the conversation and working together to build a more resilient real estate sector.
You can also read about our RE:Futures pre-conference roundtable, where members discussed climate risk, resilience and adaptation.
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