We have a had a few queries recently about carbon credit schemes that pay landlords for making carbon saving improvements to stock. Whilst we haven’t looked at any schemes in detail, we do have some thoughts. Here is one of our answers. Thanks for your time...
Blog
A new user guide for TCFD reporting
IEMA, our governing institute, has issued new guidance to help with climate related financial disclosures [1]. The Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and resulting disclosures are proving to be hugely influential and take-up in...
Modern slavery and responsibly sourced materials
A new Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking has been set up [1] with the aim of driving international momentum towards eradicating forced labour, ending modern slavery and human trafficking – in line with UN goals. It is part funded by the UK...
New environmental consultations in Scotland
A couple of new consultations are out which will have implications for managing environmental issues in Scotland. The first is about biodiversity. The second is, perhaps surprisingly to some, about water efficiency ‘Tackling the nature emergency’ [1] is based around...
Funding net zero – a “roundtable of the willing”
There is currently no sensible financial arrangement for funding the transformation of social homes to net zero. And no-one seems to be talking about long-term plans either. After chats with a few FD’s, investors, and the Green Finance Institute, we thought it might...
Future Homes Standard – SHIFT Environment and others’ view
In readiness for 2025, the Government has issued its response to a consultation on the detail of the Future Homes Standard (FHS). Others [1] [2] , who have been closer to the consultation process, have noted that the proposed standards are far weaker than initial...
Combining satellite imagery with biodiversity – pilot study
Amidst a growing importance in Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) for new developments, the lack of practical metrics for UK social landlords to manage biodiversity and green spaces for existing land portfolios has become apparent. This gap presents an opportunity to explore...
SHIFT Q&A
Each year we upgrade our methodologies for environmental reporting. The main reason we do this is to ensure that our methodologies align with new national methodologies or UK environmental strategies. For example, last year new water efficiency targets were...
A Micro-Study on the Best Region to Call Home
Introduction There are emerging global and national agendas on placemaking, levelling up and wellbeing. Investors are looking at environmental and social factors of the organisations they lend to for their ESG investments. This trend aims to improve the places where...
Using AI for Scope 3 Emissions from Purchased Goods and Services
Estimating CO2 emissions from purchased goods and services is notoriously difficult, especially for larger companies where there can be hundreds of thousands of purchases a year. The task is made doubly difficult when the description box of the same purchased...
Advice for Choosing an Environmental Degree
It’s great to see that prospective students are thinking about environmental degrees. A client asked for some advice on behalf of his son who is passionate about zoology but doesn’t see many career options. We shared our thoughts: Great that your son is...
Cutting Commercial Energy Waste With Real-Time Data
Why is there a picture of apples on a blog about energy saving? We spoke to energy monitoring software providers GridDuck to find out. Here’s what they say: With fuel shortages, unprecedented price hikes and the bankruptcy of large industry names, energy...
Comparison of Science Based Targets (SBTs) Compared to Net Zero Path for Housing
‘Science-based targets (SBTs) specify how much and how quickly a company would need to reduce its’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement.’ [1]. This is an initiative set by the partnership between: World Resource...
Cementing the Green Revolution: Decarbonising Cement
Since its invention 199 years ago in England, Original Portland Cement (OPC) has become a critical building block for modern civilisation’s infrastructure. However, despite advancements in reducing emissions produced in cement production, it still makes up as much as...
Making commercial premises energy efficient when there is a landlord/tenant relationship
Real estate is entering a challenging period of transition to net zero, where we need to re-engineer the way we value, finance, design, construct, refurbish, and operate our buildings. At the recent ‘Beyond Green’ conference we met Lucienne Mosquera and John Flexen of...
SHIFT 2024 consultation begins
At SHIFT we closely monitor all relevant national policy, strategy and legislative changes related to sustainability and the built environment and carefully consider any resultant updates that are required to our environmental audit process. In addition to our ongoing...
natural harmony in danger
The current state of the environment is in a bad way currently, with biodiversity being shown to have significantly decreased over the last 50 years. ‘As a result, the UK is now one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth’ according to the ‘State of Nature’...
The Energy Bill, On The Cusp of Change
The new ‘Energy Bill’, previously, the Energy Security Bill, looks at reforming the 10-year-old Energy Act (2013). This is to get the legislation up to speed with not only current technology, but the needs of consumers and businesses alike. The bill has reached...
can air travel be sustainable?
Right now, air travel contributes to global CO2 emissions and even more flights are projected. One way to cut emissions would be to get people to fly less. But sometimes this is a hard ask for businesses that consider flying essential and, families wanting holidays...
Sustainability Accounting That Makes Cents: SASB Standards for Real Estate and Home Building
As the global community continues to grapple with the urgent need to address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, standards and frameworks for sustainability reporting have become essential tools for businesses, investors, and regulators alike. The...