Has carbon killed development? I recently had the opportunity to join a panel discussion at the ESG Summit, which brought together the teams behind some of the most iconic buildings across the UK, with the “new breed” of developers focused on bringing existing buildings back into use.

I was also joined by:

• Nektarios D. Gkanis, senior manager, commercial real estate lead, The Carbon Trust
• Alexia Laird, NZCBS task group for embodied carbon and sustainability director, Landsec
• Arun Rao, interim principal policy and programmes officer, environment, Greater London Authority
• Steve Sanham, founder, Common Projects

‘Has carbon killed development?’ Spoiler - no. But it has forced retrofit significantly higher up the agenda - and rightly so. However, clearer mechanisms to review the options (including redevelopment) for an obsolete asset, assess relative benefits, including carbon outcomes, and thus provide greater clarity for planning and investment decisions would help bring more high quality and positive activity to the development sector. Which must be a good thing for our communities and our planet!

🎧 Listen to the complete podcast below…