Built Environment
Why transformation matters
The built environment is central to economic value, risk and resilience, and a major driver of climate and nature outcomes. How buildings and infrastructure are designed, constructed and managed affects asset performance, emissions, regulatory exposure and long‑term viability. As markets respond to pressures on land, energy and materials, transforming the built environment is essential to future‑proof assets and unlock long‑term value.
What is holding progress back
Progress remains fragmented because barriers span the whole system, including misaligned incentives, weak investment models for retrofit and infrastructure, fragmented supply chains, capability gaps and policy frameworks that lag behind ambition. These challenges cannot be solved by organisations acting alone.
How we accelerate change
- De‑risking innovation through real‑world testing, including testbeds such as the Living Lab, where developers, cities and innovators can trial new approaches to design, retrofit and place‑based development in real‑world conditions before committing capital at scale.
- Aligning finance, policy and delivery, working with businesses, investors and policymakers to overcome persistent barriers to retrofit and infrastructure investment and to help unlock commercially viable pathways for decarbonisation and resilience across portfolios and places.
- Translating insight into practical action, through tools, guidance, standards and leadership education that support decision‑makers to apply systems thinking to complex built‑environment challenges.
- Convening cross‑sector leadership, bringing together city leaders, business and finance to build confidence, coordinate action and establish new market norms that enable solutions to scale.