How does the built environment create value for people, nature and climate as demands on the sector grow?
With a reputation as one of the most environmentally burdensome industries which also has a fundamental opportunity to support healthy and resilient societies, the built environment sector needs to find a way to lead the transition to a sustainable economy.
The operation, maintenance and construction of our buildings, towns and cities account for typically the largest – or among the largest – share of any country’s, and any individual's, carbon footprint and impact on natural resources; but also provide among our greatest opportunities to strengthen the resilience of our societies, maximise shared social benefit, and create safe, secure and enjoyable futures for all.
Experts agree that the sector's role in exacerbating global challenges and its potential to provide solutions to these challenges is of critical importance today. There is an urgent need to for radical change in the sector, and conversations about this seem louder today than ever.
Insights for built environment professionals
Sustainable real estate - a constellation of risks and opportunities
First published in The Lighthouse, this blog by Munish Datta
explores the constellation of risks and opportunities for
sustainable real estate.
Read the blog
Sustainable real estate - reflections and next steps
Building on the blog by Munish on the constellation of risks and opportunities in sustainable real estate, Lucy Bruzzone considers how and why stakeholders must make the transition to sustainable practices and gives recommendations for further reading
Read the blog
Collaborative leadership? It’s what a sustainable
future in the built environment sector requires.
Dr Tim Forman describes how 'shared leadership' was central to
the refurbishment of Entopia.
Read the blog
Building Entopia
Discover the story behind the world-leading sustainable retrofit of Entopia, CISL's new home in central Cambridge.
Read the case study
Education on a sustainable built environment
For over three decades, CISL has been at the forefront of sustainability education. We have a deep understanding of the changing global context and access to a wealth of world-leading research into sustainable business. Our programmes draw upon leading academics, practitioners and innovators to help inform business strategy and inspire action.
Sustainable Real Estate: Creating a Better Built Environment
For professionals who want to understand
the sustainability challenges facing the real estate sector.
Find out more
Postgraduate programme for the
built environment
Explore the importance of building
knowledge and leadership skills to drive
real change through collaboration.
Find out more
Executive Education (open application and custom)
Identify innovative and commercially compelling approaches to address sustainability challenges.
Find out more
Postgraduate student stories
"I am invigorated and stimulated by the discussions [...]. I challenge my beliefs and biases, and I am more intentional about actively listening"
Sonia Green-Browne, Principal Engineer, Graphite Engineering Ltd.
"I would be lying if I didn’t say that there
is a lot to take in on an average day! I feel like I am learning many new ideas and insights which I can reapply in my field of work."
Neiad Adams-Austin, Traffic Engineer, London Borough of Waltham Forest
"The huge merit of the part-time course structure is the opportunity to apply what we have learnt to the real world immediately after we absorbed the lectures."
Emi Sugiyama, Sustainability Consultant, PwC Japan
Sustainable built environment innovation and collaboration opportunities
For over three decades, CISL has built individual and organisational leadership capacity and capabilities and created industry-leading collaborations, to catalyse change and accelerate the path to a sustainable economy. To discuss how we can work with you to support you in your transformation, please get in touch.
Find out more about CISL Canopy and Accelerator opportunities, which foster sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship through our community of founders, startups, corporate intrapreneurs, investors and systems change experts.
Resources and research
Bank 2030: Accelerating the transition to a low carbon economy
30 January 2020
30 January 2020 – This report authored by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL) Banking Environment Initative (BEI) highlights the need for banks to develop an ‘active mindset’ in order to accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy.
Altering perceptions and unlocking abilities: Studying for the IDBE
29 January 2020
29 January 2020 – Dr Jenni Barrett discusses how she applied a social psychology perspective to built environment design collaboration following her Master of Studies (MSt) in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE) which led to an academic career and the foundation of coLAB, a consultancy specialising in training and research for the construction industry.
12 September 2019
12 September 2019 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) launches new leadership group to accelerate climate action in Europe.
Industrial Transformation 2050: Pathways to net-zero emissions from EU Heavy Industry
24 April 2019
April 2019 – The report, supported and co-funded by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), sets out multiple possible pathways the EU could pursue to achieve the full decarbonisation of its heavy industries by 2050.
Achieving a net-zero EU heavy industry by 2050 is possible, claims new report
15 April 2019
25 April 2019 – A new report supported by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) outlines multiple pathways for European energy-intensive industries to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, whilst remaining competitive at a global level.
Academic journal publishes CISL research on social impacts of transition to low carbon economies
11 April 2019
15 April 2019 – New research from CISL researchers Dr Sanna Markkanen and Dr Annela Anger-Kraavi, which draws on existing literature on the social co-impacts of climate change and implications for inequality, has been published in the academic journal Climate Policy.
We need a radical shift in how we collaborate for the sake of the planet
30 November 2018
3 December 2018 – We have the power to change, take collective ownership and shift the built environment towards sustainable development, argues Dr Kayla Friedman, Course Director for the Master’s and Postgraduate Certificate in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment. We just need to seize it.
Aiming for Zero: Long-term certainty for economic prosperity
6 November 2018
12 September 2018 – The Paris Agreement is a historic landmark for both international diplomacy and action on climate change. The Agreement sets out an ambition, and a framework, to limit climate change and global temperature rise to well below 2°C, with efforts to limit this to 1.5 °C. To be Paris compliant, and to have any hope of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 °C, it is clear from the latest science that global emissions must now fall to net-zero as early as possible in the second half of this century. For developed economies such as the EU’s, whose leadership is essential in this, the achievement of net zero emissions must therefore be by 2050 at the latest.
Aiming for Zero: Business leadership for a net zero economy
29 October 2018
Prompted by the Paris Agreement and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a faster pace, governments across the world are reviewing their initial ambitions, and looking at what is required to deliver on the goal of ‘net zero’ emissions. Achieving this goal requires further discussion, with...
How companies are preparing for a net zero future
29 October 2018
Hear from members of the Corporate Leaders Group about why they are aiming for a net zero future by 2050, how they plan to achieve this, and why they need the government to commit to this ambitious goal.
