Sustainability and carbon reduction
Building a sustainable future is at the heart of our business. As a trusted partner, we help clients achieve their sustainability goals and reduce their carbon footprint. We advise on how to navigate the complexities of the zero-carbon transition. Our work for clients, and our corporate progress in this area, is guided by our in-house, industry-leading sustainability experts.
Our four sustainability objectives are to:
How we did in 2023
Working with the regions to agree suitable net-zero commitments.
Madrid (Spain), St Helier (Jersey), Exeter (UK) offices are fossil fuel free.
Specialist sustainability expertise in place in Americas and Europe regions. Europe, Americas and MENA staff participated in COP28.
Carbon estimating training delivered to UK business and carbon estimating being undertaken in six UK offices.
2023 highlights
In December 2023 we reported on our global scope one and two carbon impact for the first time:
tonnes CO2 emissions
below the emissions of comparable office space in the locations where we operate*
* According to actual reported and benchmarked data for typical offices of equivalent size in each location.
In October 2023 we published our first report detailing our performance and actions in UK and Europe in line with the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.
Reducing plastic waste in UAE
The "Litter Spotter Clean Up - Wadi Al Abadilah, Fujairah" initiative was conducted in collaboration with Emirates Nature – WWF. The aim of the project was to investigate the origins of plastic waste, examining 2,000kg of litter to determine where it is coming from and how we can prevent this in the future. The results will contribute to the formulation of a policy addressing single-use plastics and promoting the development of a sustainable circular economy in the UAE. The ultimate objective is to achieve a 50% reduction in plastic leakage into nature by 2030.
Our 2024 goals
Formal commitment to World Green Building Council (WGBC) target in Americas by end April 2024.
Agree commitment to carbon reduction target in MENA and APAC by end 2024.
Maintain UK and Europe target of 40% reduction in emissions by 2026.
Extend our 2023 analysis of scope one, two and three (travel) emissions for the UK to cover our global business in 2024.
Extend corporate office leasing standard to cover all regions. Include a requirement to only move to offices with fossil fuel free heating after 2025.
Deliver carbon estimating training to each region in 2024 with service leaders appointed for each region by year end.
Deliver carbon estimating service from each global region in 2024 establishing a virtual team to share resource and expertise.
Produce carbon estimating CPD materials for wider dissemination including on the new RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment professional statement.
Report measured energy data for over 64% of our European offices (by area). Globally we aim to increase the proportion of our offices reporting actual energy data to 40%.