BUYING AND SELLING PROPERTY IN UK

Buying and selling property in UK

Abstract

What progress has occurred in terms of developing the culture of sustainability in which UK property investors, occupiers, and developers are both informed and accepting of the sustainability principles? Although the rise in concern for 'triple bottom line' sustainability is now embedded in many government and corporate policies, it is still not integrated into UK property investment practice. Whilst the last decade has seen progress towards 'green buildings', there has not yet been a 'sea change' in market behaviour. In developing this premise, it draws on the third of three surveys undertaken by the authors spanning a decade and tracking investor attitudes towards 'green' and sustainable buildings. Stakeholders' attitudes towards a potential range of fiscal measures that might incentivize market movement towards the adaptation of more sustainable behaviour. The business case for investment in sustainable property currently rests on risk reduction, not proven return advantage. There is support among respondents for a range of fiscal incentives. Although challenges to implementation undoubtedly exist, they are, in the authors' view, worthy of further research and investigation. There is potential to stimulate, via the fiscal system, measures to reward sustainable practices in property investment and management which can be facilitated through a more open dialogue with government bodies.

Buying and selling property in UK

Chapter 15

Introduction5

Chapter 28

Literature Review8

Chapter 378

Methodology78

Chapter 484

Findings.84

Chapter 5102

Conclusions102

References106

Buying and selling property in UK

Chapter 1

Introduction

The last decade has seen a substantial shift in attitudes to sustainability.1 Not only has the issue of sustainable development gained more prominence within political debate at UK national and international levels, leading to a raft of legislation and regulation, but also it has become a key part of the corporate agenda in developed economies. It is hard to believe that it is only a decade ago that the first environmental accounting was introduced. Today environmental and social accounting is commonplace and enshrined within government policy and, increasingly, regulatory requirements. It has moved from being the concern of the minority evangelist to the mainstream of company strategy (Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, 2005). But it has not just been in the corporate sector that cognisance of sustainability has developed. Within the financial investment markets the notion of socially responsible investment (SRI) has grown and more recently this has been translated into a call for responsible property investing (RPI) (Pivo and McNamara, 2005). Within the UK, this growth in policy awareness has been paralleled by a shift in the understanding of the breadth of sustainability with concerns for environmental protection now extending to a wider remit encapsulating well-being and triple bottom line sustainability. Matters of environmental protection and impact assessment still dominate, predicated on political and economic knowledge and concerns, particularly regarding the energy supply chain and the potential and actual impacts of climate change (Stern, 2006 Pp. 117). However, there is also a realization within government that environmental protection must be balanced against the need to achieve progress against, for example, the Human Development ...