A new report has shown that demand for eco-friendly buildings is rising in the UK. 

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published its global sustainability report for 2023, outlining the state of the world's green and sustainable real estate, as well as investor interest in acquiring and developing it.

In the UK, more than half of contributors reported that investor demand for green buildings had risen over the past year.

The study measured a 60 per cent net balance of respondents saying that demand for sustainable buildings rose over the past year in the UK, being higher than the global average, which is 44 per cent. 

However, the UK demand lags behind that of the European average, which is a net 73 per cent. 

Tina Paillet, President Elect at RICS, commented: "The latest RICS global sustainability report reveals that the UK is among the leading nations for positive sentiment in sustainable real estate. 

“However, the research indicates that several bottlenecks, such as ongoing uncertainty surrounding EPC reform, are slowing down investment, while the UK should take greater steps to catch up with the European average.

“The built environment contributes 40 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions. 

“We cannot tackle global emissions without substantially reducing embodied and operational emissions from buildings and infrastructure. 

“Because of this, RICS continues to develop its green standards for the sector, such as the recently developed Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) to guide the industry in a direction that supports greater sustainability and decarbonisation. 

“What we can measure, we can then manage –understanding the scale and scope of emissions is a key first step. 

“Sustainability is much wider than carbon emissions, and RICS will continue to support professionals through our range of standards, existing and in development.”