Paul said real estate decision makers face risk to their reputations, falling foul of regulations, and the impact of climate change itself.

As World Green Building Week begins, Paul believes it is a time for action and for investments into sustainable building to be made, rather than making further commitments.

“As an industry, we're really good with commitments,” said Paul.

“They’ve been published by all the big institutions — some saying they will achieve net zero by 2030, others 2040 or 2050. But what our industry is not good at is actually taking action.

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"With yet another summer of record-breaking temperatures, wildfires and disruption, the time for taking action is now. 

“Unless fund managers in real estate start investing in retrofitting, innovations and ensuring buildings are sustainable, there’s a very strong likelihood they will suffer in three big, overlapping ways.”

Paul explained how real estate companies will “fall foul of legislation”, which is becoming ever stronger and therefore leading to a devaluation of their assets. Which will affect reputations both in the industry and the wider public eye.

“Whether they act now or not, the regulations will only keep coming and change will be forced upon them if they haven’t made it already,” he continued.

“When fund managers invest in a building that isn’t sustainable, it will not perform well and poorly performing funds will affect their reputation as a fund manager.

“Most importantly, they will have failed to meet the biggest challenge of our lifetime — the risk to the planet caused by the climate crisis.”

Paul also acknowledged that the economic environment might make it harder for many to implement sustainable practices.

“With the cost of living crisis, many fund and building managers are simply not prioritising climate change.

“This is understandable, but we also know that major investors and real estate companies do have access to resources that make it possible for them to make a real difference. 

“World Green Building Week must be the moment we in the real estate industry stop making meaningless commitments and put sustainability at the front of our agenda.”