Meanwhile, green investors are under pressure to prove what they preach and deliver bigger returns. For both, greater collaboration is one answer.
There's no getting away from the built environment's contributions to carbon emissions.
The industry accounts for 25% of the UK total output of greenhouse gases according to the UK Green Building Council, including through land remediation, construction activity, and embodied carbon in materials.
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While the scale of the challenge is daunting, the sector has made progress through new construction techniques and operational energy-saving measures, and built environment emissions have reduced by 30% over the past two decades, the Council says.
This creates an opportunity for sustainable finance to play a greater role in this industry.
At the same time, sustainable finance has been underperforming, returning less than traditional investment. Before it becomes the norm, green funds will have to show that they can deliver good returns. Long-term potential is not attractive forever and the push for profitability is compounded by increasing obligations to provide evidence that portfolios are sustainable.
Closer alignment offers one solution to navigating these issues. By doing so, green funds can unlock a profitable asset class that will help to meet targets, guiding private development so more of the sector becomes applicable as an ESG investment. This will have the added benefit of supporting the funding efforts of private development also.
The benefits of being green
Overall, the general trend towards green finance is clear, but the barriers to entry are getting higher. The sustainable market's size is increasing and over time it will become harder to secure funding at competitive rates from outside this pool. At the same time, there is a move to ensure that sustainable funds live up to their name.
A recently closed consultation by the Financial Conduct Authority has proposed that any fund promoted as sustainable must be able to demonstrate that at least 70% of its assets are ESG-compliant.
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Against this backdrop, it may be tempting for developers to focus their attention on traditional funds but this neglects the need for a long-term view.
It will be the companies who recognise the financial benefits of having at least some of their assets classed as sustainable that will thrive in the recovery.
Equally the green investors that encourage private developers to embrace ESG, will unlock businesses that qualify as sustainable assets and provide reliable returns.
Property companies and investors do not need to go green overnight. As long as the will is there and incremental improvements are shown, the real estate sector can begin reaping the rewards.
The role of funds in a green transition
This is a complex landscape and the job of green investors is to support the industry to understand how activity around real estate portfolios can align with funding criteria.
This means sharing expertise on implementing ESG into strategies and clarity on what they need from private developers so that they can invest.
In particular, funds can help translate jargon and put any outputs needed in terms the built environment can engage with.
They can help developers keep up with the applicability of regulations in the UK, such as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, and the US and Europe where many investors also operate.
On the other side, private development can offer its own expertise and practically demonstrate how the industry is progressing. If the FCA's proposals become law, then sustainable funds will need this detail to present as evidence.
Good reporting standards are crucial and the FCA's consultation also suggests that businesses using sustainable investment definitions must produce a report assessing ongoing performance, backed up with proof.
We analyse this in our own toolkit for developers seeking sustainable finance - and our view is that to be applicable, they must have a framework in place to integrate ESG throughout their corporate strategy.
Only if it is considered at every step, will private developers efficiently improve ESG standards and deliver the reliable outputs sustainable financiers need.
Understanding the wider push
The greater attractiveness of and rigour surrounding green finance is just one consequence of the commitment to net zero by 2050.
From November this year all new English developments must achieve a 10% net biodiversity gain, and the potential Infrastructure Levy could change how many green assets are developed.
Private developers can meet these demands head on by embedding ESG throughout their strategy.
Alongside this, by conversing with the sector, sustainable finance can understand the pressures being placed on development and adapt the outputs it needs accordingly.
Collaboration is in the interest of sustainable finance and private developers.
By doing so the former could unlock a sustainable asset class and the latter will be able to access less competitive funding longer-term.
Nicola Balmer is a partner at Winckworth Sherwood