The Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) has today announced the launch of its enhanced Acquisitions Sustainability Toolkit, designed to support commercial property owners in assessing the sustainability characteristics of buildings during the acquisition phase.  

The refreshed Toolkit provides a detailed sustainability checklist for assessing buildings during due diligence, covering topics including net zero carbon, climate resilience, environmental regulation, and biodiversity. The checklist empowers users to understand which sustainability factors are likely to impact asset value or require capital investment, offering guidance on the appropriate checks to undertake at various stages as deals progress.  

The Toolkit also provides ‘decision trees’ to support ESG and investment teams in navigating more complex sustainability considerations, crucial to investment decisions.  Additionally, the Toolkit features a section to support the onboarding of new assets into property management processes, while maintaining a focus on sustainability outcomes. 

While principally targeting commercial property owners engaged in asset transactions, the update acknowledges the pivotal roles of property managers / managing agents, lenders and advisors / consultants in the acquisition due diligence process. User guidance is provided for these stakeholders, with lenders benefiting from a set of priority sustainability considerations.    

To support greater alignment and standardisation across the industry, the Sustainability Investment Checklist was also mapped against other relevant resources developed by CREFCE, INREV, RICS and ULI.  This was a highly collaborative effort bringing together a diverse group of over fifty industry stakeholders including property owners, advisors, agents and lenders to provide valuable insights and experience. 

The Toolkit is now available on the BBP website for review or download. The BBP invites industry professionals to explore the Toolkit, to consider how to build sustainability into their businesses or client investment processes. 

Sarah Ratcliffe, CEO, Better Buildings Partnership said: "Having the right knowledge to inform commercial property acquisition decisions could not be more important as investors seek to manage the risks and opportunities that sustainability presents. We hope that this updated Toolkit, co-created with our members will provide the industry with a practical tool that aligns with the transaction process, facilitating the timely provision of information and a robust approach to integrating assets and aligning them with portfolio sustainability strategies.” 

Brett Ormrod, Net Zero Carbon Lead at LaSalle Investment Management and Co-Chair of BBP’s Investor Engagement Working Group said: “Sustainability considerations have become a critical factor in a typical acquisition, and this updated Toolkit will provide greater support to, often time constrained, transactions teams and their advisors as they aim to make informed sustainability decisions.” 

Julie Townsend, Executive Director, Sustainability Lead Europe & Asia at PGIM Real Estate and Co-Chair of BBP’s Investor Engagement Working Group said: “The due diligence process at acquisition is the most important phase for ESG in the lifecycle of an investment (or loan). It is the chance to identify risks, realise opportunities, underwrite associated CAPEX and business plan for any transition of the asset during ownership. The BBP Acquisition Sustainability Toolkit has been evolved and updated to aid navigation of this hugely important process in today’s marketplace” 

Editors Notes: 

About BBP: 

The Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) is a not-for-profit collaboration of the UK’s leading property owners who are working together to improve the sustainability of the UK’s existing commercial buildings. The organisation's aim is to deliver market transformation through sustainability leadership and knowledge sharing across the UK property industry. The BBP currently has 56 members who represent more than £340bn Assets Under Management (AUM). More information about the BBP can be found here: www.betterbuildingspartnership.co.uk    

Investor Engagement Working Group: 

abrdn; Aviva Investors; BNP Paribas Real Estate; CBRE; GPE; JLL; LaSalle Investment Management; Lendlease; LGIM; M&G; PGIM Real Estate; Savills Investment Management; Schroders and Workspace.