The property and construction industry will lose business if it does not engage more fully in the sustainability process.
This is the message from global research charity the RICS Foundation, whose report ‘Red Man, Green Man’ finds that builders are “sceptical, suspicious or unaware” of sustainability.
The report says a “wait and see” strategy is being adopted by a “significant majority” despite a growing number of plans being rejected when aspects fail to meet clients’ sustainability check-lists.
Report co-author David Fell said: “The rise of corporate social responsibility, not to mention the potential financial costs, mean that this strategy could easily translate into ‘wait and suffer’.”
Mr Fell said embracing sustainable development and the use of sustainability indicators, which provided a means for measuring performance against targets and evaluating actions, were an economic and marketing advantage.
