SAY and BPF Futures Develop ESG Report for Real Estate Industry
We were excited to release the SAY & BPF Futures ESG research report following the COP-27 Solutions Day event. We harnessed the benefits of sharing ideas and lessons learnt from the future leaders within organisations across the real estate industry. The purpose of this report is to give support and guidance to real estate businesses on how they can implement changes to their ESG processes internally.
Multiple polls were employed throughout the Solutions Session and the data from the polls has been used to inform the findings of this insight paper.
One result which stood out was 27% of the events attendees felt that more can be done within their company to have effective environmental insights in place.
Some of the key takeaways from these polls around the Environmental, Social and Governance issues in real estate are:
- The real estate industry contributes nearly 40% of global CO2 emissions and plays a critical role in the UK’s chances of reaching the net zero carbon target by 2050. The sector is also a huge lynchpin of the UK’s economy, contributing £107 billion every year [equivalent to 6% of Gross Value Add (GVA)] and providing nearly 2.3 million jobs – that is one in every 13 jobs in the UK (BPF, 2021).
By ‘greening’ business practices and developing authentic Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies, the property sector has the means to truly make a difference.
- For companies to remain competitive and retain talent, there is a need to implement robust and authentic social initiatives. Successful social initiatives included wellness rooms for employees, ‘fun funds’ for social events, working groups such as a LGBTQ Working Group and BAME Working Group, and regular diversity and inclusivity awareness training.
Whilst companies generally do social well, attendees still felt that more could be done surrounding social awareness and engagement.
- When attendees were asked, ‘Do you feel your company has effective and genuine governance initiatives in place?’, 52% agreed however 19% felt it needs improvement. This led to a further discussion about the possibility of rebranding governance, where instead it could be adapted to ESC (Environmental, Social, Culture) with a larger focus on embedding initiative within the culture of the company.
- Attendee data from the event showed that most attendees (62%) agreed that their company would be open to augmenting their governance practices. However, they also felt that companies were less likely to implement governance initiatives when compared to environment or social initiatives.
It was apparent from the discussion that younger generations of employees want more responsibility for ESG, and where governance needs to change, environment and social initiatives can then follow and come into fruition.
If you want to improve your ESG strategies within your company or learn more about the actions and goals within the industry, read the full research paper here. https://sayproperty.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SAY-BPF-Futures-ESG-Solutions-Session-Insight-Paper-2022.pdf
At SAY, we can also provide further recommendations for companies who want to work on their ESG strategy with our knowledge and expertise. Contact us to discuss how we can work with you to achieve your ESG goals. https://sayproperty.co.uk/contact-us/
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