The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report showed we still have a chance at keeping global warming levels below 1.5 degrees, but only with systemic, urgent change.

As buildings use about 40 percent of global energy and around 40 percent of the world’s natural resources, real estate needs to respond rapidly, and our window of opportunity to halve emissions by 2030 is closing. This need is set firmly against a backdrop of regulators, investors, occupiers and end clients demanding greater sustainability credentials for assets as part of the wider push towards corporate (and investing) net zero.

According to industry estimates, 80 percent of properties that will exist in 2050 have already been built. Thus, radical improvements in the energy efficiency of existing buildings will be a fundamental pillar of any credible strategy to reach net- zero emissions, address fuel poverty and cut energy bills. The EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) is a Euro