Today, Grosvenor’s UK property business, which includes the London Estate of Mayfair and Belgravia, has published its latest Sustainability Report, revealing a 38% reduction in carbon emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3 since 2019. 

The carbon reduction improvement reflects the business’s sustained investments in retrofitting its properties, reducing gas usage across the portfolio, leveraging innovative technologies to optimise property management and working closely with suppliers to support their decarbonisation journeys.

Grosvenor’s UK property business is now tracking ahead of its science-based carbon target of a 52% reduction by 2030, as well as making good progress with its other environmental and social priorities.

Alongside the publication of the report, Grosvenor is calling on the UK Government to take clear action so that further progress can be made across the property industry to decarbonise, increase retrofitting, support social impact initiatives and deliver funding where it’s needed most.   

Tor Burrows, Chief Sustainability Officer at Grosvenor, said: “We are extremely proud of the progress made over the last five years in reducing carbon emissions. Working particularly closely with suppliers and occupiers, through mutual ambition and a culture of constant improvement, we continue to accelerate our transition to becoming a net-zero carbon business.

“However, there is much more to be done to deliver ambitious environmental and social outcomes, and the reality is that we can’t do it at scale without collective action. Meaningful change will only be achieved with supportive policy. That is why we are calling on the Government to clarify planning policy around the retrofit of heritage buildings, introduce further guidance on social value and impact, and create greater flexibility around how the Community Infrastructure Levy can be used.”   

Specifically, Grosvenor is calling on the UK Government to:

• Balance heritage preservation with urgent climate action

National planning policy must place far greater emphasis on the role climate adaptation plays in ensuring the long-term viability of heritage buildings, and that they too play their part in delivering Net Zero. 

As a first step, the Government should take forward the recommendations identified by the 2024 review of the barriers to adapting historic homes for energy efficiency.  

• Improve understanding and measurement of social value and impact 

The country needs clearer planning guidance on what social impact and value means, and how it should be articulated alongside environmental and economic factors.

• Make it easier to use Community Infrastructure Levy funding

The industry needs greater flexibility around how the Community Infrastructure Levy can be used to facilitate greater local benefit, including, for example, allowing funds to be allocated for delivering affordable homes in areas of acute need. This must be associated with greater transparency, so communities can hold local government to account. 

Grosvenor Property UK’s sustainability approach focuses on being People and Planet Positive. Alongside the progress made on carbon emissions, the business’s key performance highlights include: