UK in retrofit race to meet net-zero commitments

The United Kingdom is in a "retrofit race" against time to upgrade and improve its office stock across six key regional economic centers.

JLL says that the UK will not meet its net-zero commitments unless significant action is taken over the next 10 years to retrofit 90 percent of the office stock in England and Wales’ largest regional office markets. A report called Sustainability and Value in the Regions said that the six areas — Thames Valley, Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds — are at risk of not meeting the UK government’s target for all non-domestic properties to have an EPC B rating by 2030.

The research has also found that across the UK's eight regional centers — including Edinburgh and Glasgow — no completed office development has yet achieved the UK Green Building Council’s embodied and operational net-zero carbon standard. In addition, only 16 percent of existing regional office stock is rated BREEAM "Good" to "Outstan