How can we achieve dramatic embodied carbon reduction and net neutral operational carbon in offices by 2030?

As more companies across the United Kingdom (UK) and the world commit to net zero carbon emissions, office buildings without a strong sustainability strategy are at risk of getting left behind. Tenants want their offices to serve as physical expressions of their brands and are hesitant to occupy spaces with outsized carbon footprints. Within the UK, the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) has set ambitious sustainability targets for commercial office buildings, including dramatically reduced embodied carbon and net neutral operational carbon by 2030. There has also been a shift toward sustainability certifications like NABERS that rate buildings on their measured energy efficiency. These competing targets and certifications can make for a confusing regulatory environment, leaving developers anxious to get answers about what steps to take to provide tenants with what they need and future-proof their spaces.

Our research addresses these concerns by establishing a framework that developers, investors, and companies can use to meet important embodied and operational carbon targets. Our work defines a clear set of sustainability goals that buildings should achieve by 2030, and outlines simple strategies for achieving these goals.