Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

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.

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Executive Education (open application and custom)

Identify innovative and commercially compelling approaches to address sustainability challenges.

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Postgraduate student stories

Hear from postgraduate students on the Sustainability Leadership in the Built Environment courses how have shared their experience of the programme and detailed what an average day looks like for them during a residential workshop in Cambridge, UK.

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"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

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

Aiming for Zero: A growing business movement

10 September 2018: Business leaders can share their insights and experience to inform policy and regulation; they can also shape public expectations on how sustainable growth can be advanced. This briefing aims to support companies to engage more meaningfully in the net zero debate.

The Climate Change Act at 10 years: Where next for UK ambition?

12 July 2018

12 July 2018 – On the ten-year anniversary of the UK Climate Change Act, The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group convened a discussion between leading UK businesses and Parliamentarians to explore setting a net zero carbon emissions target for the UK.

Resource Productivity and the Circular Economy: The opportunities for the UK economy

May 2018 – This paper presents the findings of consultation with members of Business in the Community’s (BITC’s) Circular Economy Taskforce on opportunities for the UK to take a leading global role in resource productivity and to move towards a circular economy. It discusses the opportunities and challenges in accelerating the UK’s transition to a circular economy.

Renovation Roadmap: Making Europe’s homes fit for the 21st Century

April 2018 – This report draws on insights and experience from 12 businesses who are members of the CLG and its close network and are involved in energy-efficiency renovation of buildings. It highlights the importance of renovating EU homes at scale in order to deliver on the Paris Agreement and take advantage of the associated economic opportunities, and identifies the current barriers to a higher renovation rate as well as promising schemes and experimentations across the EU. It puts forward recommendations for EU Member States and local governments to address these barriers and make the most of this opportunity.

Electric avenue: The future of road transport in Europe

November 2017 – This report draws together insights from businesses and industry experts to map the trends toward electrification and automation in the road transport sector. It seeks to make a high-level assessment of the implications and opportunities for European businesses, as well as what policymakers need to do to respond to these trends.

European industry in the 21st century: New models for resource productivity

September 2017 – This report is based on interviews with companies that are using circular economy principles to reduce their exposure to risk, and to access new markets. It discusses some of the successful transformations and changes made, obstacles faced, and potential policies for overcoming those obstacles.

Market design for a high-renewables European electricity system

August 2017 – This report was commissioned by CISL to provide a set of policy recommendations for the market design of a future EU electricity system characterised by a dominant share of intermittent renewable energy supply (RES), in line with the stated targets of European governments.

21st century energy: Business reflections on renewables in Europe

April 2017 – This report brings together business stories and interviews with companies with an interest in renewable energy. It focuses on EU policies on renewable energy and industry’s role in innovating to deliver it.

How Can Funders Accelerate Climate Action to 2018–2020?

This memo, prepared by Galvanising the Groundswell of Climate Actions with input from CISL, provides a ‘state of play’ of climate action by non-state actors and provides some recommendations for potential funders of the work ahead.

UK Industrial Strategy: Navigating a changing world

20 January 2017 – This discussion paper has been commissioned by The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group to inform the development of an industrial strategy fit for the 21st century.