A leading figure from the property and legal industries says the UK property sector should play a much greater role in the AESSEAL Betterworld initiative if it wants to demonstrate its commitment to the environment.
Martin McKervey, the Chair of the Sheffield Property Association, said that in spite of the widespread acknowledgement that the property sector should play its part in tackling global warming, no meaningful progress had been made in reducing emissions within the real estate and built environment sectors.
In an article in the Yorkshire Post, Mr McKervey, who is also a non-executive director at AESSEAL, said this was the conclusion contained in a report from the UK Environmental Audit Committee called ‘Building to net zero: costing carbon in construction’.
“We clearly need a fundamental reassessment of investment priorities,” Mr McKervey said, “recognizing the role property and real estate has to play in addressing our environmental challenges.”
He said that excellent examples of sustainable buildings and developments did exist, notably those featured in the recent South Yorkshire Property Awards. These included AESSEAL’s Factory for the Future in Rotherham, which was voted Sustainable Development of the Year, and a £470 million mixed-use development scheme from Sheffield City Council which won the ‘Outstanding Development of the Year’.
But Mr McKervey said that this was not enough.
“Global warming is a crisis already under way for the planet,” he said, “and it’s a crisis waiting to happen for the property sector.”
He said that the AESSEAL Betterworld.Solutions knowledge-sharing project was an example of how to encourage all sectors of industry to exchange information and create anenvironmentally friendly investment policy.
However, he said that he would like to see much greater involvement from the property sector in the Betterworld initiative.
“The built environment touches all aspects of our lives,” he said, “encompassing the buildings and factories we live and work in. We can be rightly proud of projects like the Factory for the Future…but the clock is ticking and we have much to do.”
