It’s in everyone’s interests that we decarbonise the UK’s buildings and equip people with the skills to deliver net zero. Policy and regulatory alignment will be essential to drive change at the pace and scale needed. That’s why we welcome the new UK government’s renewed focus on net zero carbon and clean energy. As British Land works to decarbonise our entire portfolio and support the skills transition to ensure inclusive growth, we’re engaging with government and sharing knowledge across our industry. Our work in this space directly benefits our customers, supporting their own climate commitments and commercial success. 

Our priorities for the UK government include investment in grid capacity and decarbonisation to support the electrification of buildings. As we shift our own buildings to fully electric, moving to fossil fuel free heating, this positions our customers to benefit from reduced operational emissions as the grid decarbonises. We’ve already retrofitted over 20 air source heat pumps across multiple buildings. 

We welcome the government’s recently released Industrial Strategy Green Paper, which highlights clean energy industries as one of eight growth driving sectors. At Canada Water, we’re creating lab space for science and technology firms, such as Prosemino, which builds, finances and scales clean energy innovators and startups. 

To deliver our 2030 sustainability strategy, we need policy and regulation which supports the decarbonisation of construction materials and secures low carbon supply chains. Investment in low carbon materials requires an environment where innovation and safety go hand in hand, giving regulators and insurers the confidence and standards to support the use of new materials. This would enable us to create even lower carbon buildings for our customers.  

We are working with government and our peers in the industry to secure practical, deliverable planning reforms. Simple changes to the planning system could fast-track renewables take-up and make it easier to install electric vehicle charging points.  

The just transition to net zero requires an increasing range of green skills, from air source heat pump engineers to carbon accountants. The UK’s public, private and third sectors and academic institutions need to work together to secure inclusive economic growth by expanding local employment and skills programmes, so high-skill, high-wage jobs are accessible to the communities in which they’re based. We’re reviewing our own employment partnerships, which aim to reach 10,000 people by 2030, to address the UK’s fast-growing science and technology sectors, as well as our green skills needs.  

In our experience, engagement is most effective where the areas that we care about are also the ones that government cares about. The industry is delivering change now, but there needs to be a clear policy and regulatory environment to accelerate the electrification of buildings, fast-track renewables take-up, support low carbon materials innovation and equip the workforce with the skills for our net zero future.  

Michael Meadows, Head of Planning and Public Affairs at British Land.