Intervention Areas
As part of the C Change programme, we have identified thirteen key intervention points where professionals in the real estate sector can apply pressure to drive industry-wide change.
While some of these intervention points are already being addressed or require action from other stakeholders, C Change is currently developing solutions to five areas where ULI, in collaboration with its partners, supporters and the wider real estate industry, is uniquely positioned to make the greatest impact.
Intervention points are specific places within a system where we can target action, interrupting business as usual in order to drive transformation.
C Change Interventions
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Initiatives in progress or requiring action by the wider industry
Building capabilities for blended finance
Cities are a focal point for the decarbonisation challenge. Decarbonising cities requires immense sums of capital. To raise these, cities must leverage traditional continuous streams of resources to access new and alternative sources of capital. This requires skills and capabilities that are less common in the public sector.
Download the full briefing to find out more about this challenge here.
Get involved in industry action:
Building renovation passports
By promoting the widespread adoption of building renovation passports (BRPs), which outline a long-term renovation roadmap to achieve deep renovation for individual buildings, the industry could significantly boost retrofitting rates.
Download the full briefing to find out more about this challenge here.
Get involved in industry action:
- The Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) is a membership-based organisation working on piloting BRPs in several countries to provide blueprints for global adoption. Their efforts aim to standardize and promote the use of BRPs worldwide, facilitating the global transition to sustainable building practices. Find out more here.
- In the UK, the Green Finance Institute’s Coalition for the Energy Efficiency of Buildings (CEEB) has established a Building Renovation Passport Working Group and will publish an initial standardised framework for Building Renovation Passports. Find out more in their latest report here.
- The iBRoad2EPC project focuses on integrating BRPs with Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), supporting a number of EU policy instruments.
Energy efficiency data
Unless the gaps in energy efficiency data are filled, the financial case for retrofit will continue to be unclear, hampering willingness to invest and reducing the opportunities appropriate incentives across the value chain.
Download the full briefing to find out more about this challenge here.
Get involved in industry action:
- Icebreaker One is looking for supporters to help unlock net-zero data from several sectors, including real estate. Find out more here.
- DEEP is an open-source initiative to up-scale energy efficiency investments in Europe through the improved sharing and transparent analysis of existing projects in buildings and industry. Access the platform or become a data provider here.
- BuiltHub aims to create a comprehensive database of the European building stock to support policy-making and investment decisions related to building renovations and energy efficiency. Join the BuiltHub community as a user or contributor here.
- Lenders can engage with the EEMI and develop the business case for green mortgages through the EEM label. Find out more here.
Financing the retrofit challenge
Financing the retrofit challenge is expensive and requires new alternative financial solutions for the built environment. These need to blend public and private sector actions, including increased data collection, more extensive risk modelling in light of anticipated policy changes, and blended finance products to mobilise capital at scale.
Download the full briefing to find out more about this challenge here.
Get involved in industry action:
- To de-risk energy efficiency investments, data and knowledge sharing of cases is invaluable through initiatives such as the De-risking Energy Efficiency Platform (DEEP).
- Read the ULI C Change Transition Risk Assessment Guidelines which outline a standardised approach to assess and disclose climate transition risks as part of property valuations.
First movers coalition on new technology and innovation
Accelerating industry scale innovation to support decarbonisation requires a coordinated approach in order to increase certainty of market forecasts for prioritised solutions that de-risk and scale innovative low carbon solutions.
Download the full briefing to find out more about this challenge here.
Get involved in industry action:
- Join the ULI Europe Technology and Real Estate Council, which explores how technology and innovation in real estate and urban development can enhance customer experience and quality of life.
- The First Movers Coalition, powered by the World Economic Forum, is a global coalition of companies leveraging their purchasing power to decarbonise the world’s heavy-emitting sectors.
- Join SteelZero and ConcreteZero are global initiatives bringing together organisations to create demand and speed up the transition towards net zero steel and concrete.
- Built by Nature connects organisations to drive systemic action to accelerate the uptake of bio-based materials in the built environment.
- The EIF’s Climate and Infrastructure Fund is accepting applications from financial intermediaries that are targeting one or more of the thematic strategies which are high policy priority for the European Union; Clean Energy Transition & Climate, Sustainable Transport, Environment & Resources, Digital Connectivity & Data Infrastructure, Social Infrastructure, Space Infrastructure.
- Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation that tackles climate change.
Net zero targets for the built environment
Developing and aligning with accurate science-based targets for the built environment will enable the sector to decarbonise at pace, reducing its significant contributions to global carbon emissions.
Download the full briefing to find out more about this challenge here.
Get involved in industry action:
- The SBTi developed sector-specific criteria for the Buildings Sector, providing corporates and financial institutions that own, develop and finance buildings with 1.5°C-aligned emissions reduction targets. Find out more here.
- Country-specific net zero carbon building certifications are emerging, such as the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard. Developed by experts and organisations from across the industry, the Standard provides a definition of what a net-zero carbon building is and requirements, covering both operational and embodied carbon emissions, for achieving it. Find out more here.
Whole life carbon data
To effectively reduce whole life carbon emissions in the building system, targets and benchmarks need to be developed. This can only be achieved if stakeholders commit to collect, share and analyse sufficient data on emissions in all stages of a building’s life cycle.
Download the full briefing to find out more about this challenge here.
Get involved in industry action:
- The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) released the second edition of the Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) standard in 2024. Find out more here.
- The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) provide WLC emissions assessment guidance and are collecting WLC case studies to create a body of evidence and foster shared learning. Find out more here.
- Support the World Green Building Council’s #BuildingLife programme that is developing national and regional decarbonisation roadmaps, underpinned by the WorldGBC’s EU Policy Whole Life Carbon Roadmap. Find out more here.
Whole value chain coordination
The built environment industry needs to coordinate stakeholders across the value chain to form a coalition that is capable of aligning and speeding up action on decarbonisation to ensure a faster green transformation.
Download the full briefing to find out more about this challenge here.
Get involved in industry action:
- Join the BuildingToCOP Coalition unites leaders around a shared mission – to ensure the built environment is at the forefront of international climate dialogues and secure its recognition in global decision making as an affordable, achievable, and essential solution.
- Check out WBCSD’s Market Transformation Action Agenda which provides a collective roadmap for built environment stakeholders spanning the entire value chain, including business and finance stakeholders, cities, national governments, regulators and end users.
- Join the Global Alliance for Building and Construction, a multi-stakeholder alliance committed to delivering a zero-emission, efficient and resilient buildings and construction sector.
What are the priorities for C Change?
Hear from Lisette van Doorn, CEO of ULI Europe, as she explains how the intervention areas were chosen for C Change and why they are important issues to tackle.
