CLIMATE CHANGE REPORTS: THE NEW FRONTIER OF REAL ESTATE DUE DILIGENCE

Earlier this year, Landmark Information Group joined the Pledge to Net Zero initiative and committed to meeting science-based targets that align with the Paris Agreement, aimed at accelerating a transition to a net-zero carbon economy. As the first property data business in the UK to join the initiative, we were driven not only by the existential imperative we must all surely feel to manage climate change, but also by our own deep understanding of the role that the property industry – as a whole ecosystem – can and must play.

No country, industry or person will be untouched by the effects of climate change. When we zone in on property, particularly through our own lens of sector data and insights, we can see how the role of climate change reporting is set to take on even greater importance in the years to come. It is clear that we have reached a critical point where, as an industry we must ask: are we measuring the right things, in the right way, at the right time?

As a provider and partner to all parts of the property industry, Landmark has always sought to unify and connect data and participants. When it comes to climate change reporting, the new frontier of real estate due diligence, we are even more motivated to bring together the parties that can and will make a difference.

Our white paper, Climate Change Reports: The New Frontier of Real Estate Due Diligence, marks the start of that. We are immensely grateful to the pan-industry expert contributors who have lent their wisdom, insights and candid perspectives on this topic, and are heartened to note that even in a complex and fragmented industry such as property risk and property data, there is a common understanding of the challenges and of the task ahead – and a shared energy with which we should best approach it.

The intersect between these future climate risks and the built environment has been the focus of this white paper, highlighting the new frontier of real estate due diligence which all property professionals must now navigate.

Reflecting on the conversations which have led to this publication, and on the collective contributions to it, what resounds is a unified desire, belief, and mandate for an approach to climate change risk management that truly connects the industry.

As The Lettings Industry Council’s Theresa Wallace concluded, “we are all in this together.” This adage is true at every level – from that of our collective humanity, to that of our roles as property professionals.

Climate change is a reality that demands a series of immediate and concerted responses. If you have been considering where your own organisation might start to respond to both the wider threat of climate change, and to the inherent risks faced by our businesses and clients, this is an incredibly good place to start.

You can access our white paper, Climate Change Reports: The New Frontier of Real Estate Due Diligence here

The end users in our industry deserve better; home movers cannot be expected to make responsible decisions around property and climate change with inconsistent data and advice that cannot be validated against agreed standards or which is presented as an absolute, without taking into account context and relative factors.”

Jonathan Shaw, Director of Operations, Harvey, Donaldson and Gibson

Climate change is happening, and new regulations are both necessary and inevitable. But for regulations to make any meaningful impact on our collective effort to halt the effects of climate change, a fair consensus is necessary.

From government to in-sector groups, we need to be better aligned with our definitions, our terminology, and our timeframes – and that can only happen if there’s a holistic view within the property sector on which climate reference models and reporting disclosures to use. If not, those targets will remain out of reach… and time is running out.”

Anthony Baker & Nell Agate Tsui, Satellite Vu