While almost all (97%) building portfolio and asset managers feel confident in their ability to keep pace with environmental regulations and reporting requirements, four fifths (80%) are not yet implementing strategies or achieving sustainable outcomes, a new study by Mace has found.
Mace, a global provider of delivery consultancy and construction expertise, surveyed more than 4,000 building portfolio and asset managers across the UK, USA, UAE and Hong Kong, working across 14 sectors, to better understand how they are meeting the climate challenge.
Motivating factors
When asked ‘what, if anything, is your key motivator for creating more sustainable assets’, other than it being the right thing to do, some 54% of respondents cited ‘finance’ as their key motivating factor, followed by ‘investor mandates’ (19%), ‘regulatory compliance’ (15%) and ‘occupant expectation’ (10%).
Financial motivation was particularly high among asset managers in the UK, cited by 65% of respondents, with key investment priorities in this market including data and AI, standardised reporting, decarbonisation technology, and green skills.
Of the sectors that are included in the study, local authorities (32%) were found to be the most advanced in terms of sustainability implementation, followed by 20% for infrastructure, 19% for real estate and retail & leisure and 13% for architecture & engineering.
‘A crucial role to play’
“It is imperative businesses have sustainable assets and with many making net zero carbon commitments for 2030 and 2050, asset managers have a crucial role to play in shaping the future of our growing urban environments,” commented James Low, global head of responsible business, Mace Group.
“This study has found that sustainable solutions can combine environmental and financial advantages, however, most asset managers have only just started their journey when it comes to implementing their strategies.”
Low added that with asset managers confident of keeping pace with environmental regulations and reporting requirements, “it’s time to enact their strategies with tactics that can be implemented and measurement systems needed to get them off the mark.” Read more here.
