Sales and letting agents sit at the heart of activity within the property industry as the brokers who match supply of space with potential occupiers across the markets. Clients, both owners and occupiers, seek their advice on what is a complex product. So agents can, and inevitably do, influence the finer details of what occupiers will request and what owners provide. This can be seen every day in the specification of new and refurbished commercial property.

Knowledge of the sustainable aspects of a building and how this can influence costs, comforts and desires of occupiers has not typically been within the remit of agents. This situation is now changing with agents now expected to have a greater understanding of how they can best advise their clients on the sustainability features of a building.

The BBP have, therefore, developed the Transactional Agents Sustainability Toolkit to provide agents with concise, clear information on the pros and cons of a comprehensive range of building elements. Topics include energy, water, waste, transport, biodiversity, rating systems and regulations.

It is hoped that this Toolkit is widely used as a practical reference guide to stimulate change in how letting and sales agents advise their clients in providing suitable and more sustainable space

The Toolkit is also available as an iPad app and can be found in the resource section.