Occupier Engagement

One of the greatest challenges in achieving net zero carbon buildings lies in the relationship between owners and occupiers.  

While they often have sustainability aspirations common, a series of institutional, technical & legal barriers have made progress challenging. Our Occupier Engagement workstream aims to tackle the barriers between owners and occupiers, through our Owner & Occupier Forum and our work on green leasing.

Owner & Occupier Forum Chairs

Image of Jane Wakiwaka

Jane Wakiwaka

Head of Sustainability at Real Estate Management UK (REM) Limited

Picture of Kirsty Draper, JLL

Kirsty Draper

Head of Sustainability, UK Agency, JLL 

Image of Siobhan Cross

Siobhan Cross

Partner, Pinsent Masons

Our Owner & Occupier Forum is made up of over 50 organisations representing Owners, Occupiers and Partners.

As a rapidly growing area of work within the BBP programme, it sets out to review and address key challenges that Owners and Occupiers alike face when addressing climate change and broader sustainability issues in relation to the buildings they own or occupy, through knowledge sharing and collaborative working. We are currently working on the development of an industry insight paper which resets the foundation for an expansive and constructive conversation on owner occupier synergies across ESG, focused on net zero. 

Highlights from the last year:

  • Expanded the Green Lease Toolkit with new resources on priority topics including split incentives, social impact, dilapidations and NABERS UK
  • Convened the “Green Lease Toolkit: Two Years On” event, bringing together over 75 industry stakeholders
  • Shared fresh insights into the evolving green lease landscape through research and industry engagement
  • Continued engagement with occupiers through collaboration with industry groups representing tenant perspectives
  • Maintained industry leadership by sharing BBP expertise on green leasing across the UK and internationally

Current Priorities:

  • Review and update the Green Lease Toolkit to reflect evolving market priorities and best practice
  • Deliver a follow-up knowledge sharing session on split incentives
  • Develop a sector-specific supplement to the Green Lease Toolkit
  • Host an in-person knowledge session focused on behaviour change and data sharing
  • Collaborate with industry partners to increase awareness and accessibility of the Toolkit

Related Resources:

“To collectively deliver against the BBP’s vision, embedding sustainability across the property lifecycle is vital. BBP’s toolkits and guidance will continue to raise the bar on industry standards and to drive the transformation needed to integrate sustainability as part of core-decision-making by property owners.”

Jane Wakiwaka, Real Estate Management (UK) Ltd.