This year’s C Change Summit brought together over 250 industry professionals, all united by a shared commitment to advancing sustainability within real estate. While the growing engagement in C Change is encouraging, it’s clear we’re not yet moving at the scale or speed required to meet the ambitious targets set by the Paris Agreement.

As we reflect on our progress, we must confront a sobering reality: our collective efforts are not enough to reverse the worrying trends in global carbon emissions. If we fail to meet the initial targets of 1.5 degrees by 2030, which is considered ‘low-hanging fruit’ our ability to achieve broader goals fades. It’s a critical moment that demands we ask ourselves: ‘what’s holding us back?’

Here are three interrelated challenges we must tackle to unlock progress.

1. Competitiveness Over Collaboration

The real estate industry, like many others, is inherently competitive. While competition can drive innovation, it can also create barriers to collaboration – an essential element in addressing the climate crisis.

One example is the issue of data sharing. Many organisations have built significant datasets that could help the industry decarbonise. However, these insights often remain siloed, due to confidentiality concerns or competitive posturing. This reluctance to share data hinders the professionalisation and acceleration of progress across the sector.

We must shift our perspective: collaboration on sustainability is not about diluting our competitive edge but about accelerating collective progress. By pooling knowledge, resources, and solutions, we strengthen the industry as a whole and in turn, our individual organisations.

2. Elevate Sustainability to a Strategic Level

True transformation requires more than operational adjustments or technical solutions. It demands a fundamental mindset shift where environmental and social sustainability become the fulcrum for decision-making.

While we have senior leaders in the room today, their presence needs to be more consistent across the industry. We must communicate the strategic importance of sustainability more effectively, ensuring it remains a priority amid competing demands.

The narrative must focus on how sustainability not only mitigates risk but also creates long-term value – enhancing resilience, attracting investment, and securing tenant satisfaction.

3. Embrace Common Solutions

The C Change programme has produced practical tools, such as the Transition Risk Assessment Guidelines and the new Universal Principles for Carbon Pricing in Real Estate. While feedback on these tools has been positive, adoption has been slower than anticipated.

This hesitation reflects the broader challenge of industry fragmentation. Many organisations prefer to develop proprietary solutions, tackling shared challenges in isolation. This limits the scale of impact and slows progress.

To overcome this, we must commit to breaking down silos and adopting industry-level solutions. Tools like the C Change guidelines are designed not to compete with individual efforts but to provide a common framework that accelerates progress for everyone.

A Call to The Industry to Engage

The climate crisis is an existential threat, and our industry’s survival depends on our ability to mobilise together. As members of the C Change program, we must lead the way by:

1. Collaborating on shared challenges: Share data, insights, and best practices to accelerate industry-wide progress.
2. Advocating for sustainability at the top: Elevate the conversation to a strategic level within our organisations and among stakeholders.
3. Supporting common solutions: Commit to implementing and scaling tools that benefit the entire industry.

Call to Action to The industry

The C Change Summit is a pivotal opportunity to identify the barriers hindering progress as well as develop actionable solutions. I invite all of you to contribute and share your feedback on these issues to the ongoing work of the C Change programme.

Together, we can turn frustration into momentum and ensure the real estate industry plays its part in achieving a sustainable future.

Find out more about C Change: https://europe.uli.org/research/c-change/

C Change is a ULI-led programme to mobilise the European real estate industry to decarbonise. We’re a movement empowering everyone to work together for a sustainable future. We connect the brightest minds from across the value chain. We challenge barriers, share expertise, and champion innovation to move swiftly to accelerate solutions that will transform our industry and protect our planet. C Change means real change. C Change was formed in late 2021 by a group of leading real estate players that was united in its aim to focus on collaboration to ensure companies large and small have access to practical solutions and education on decarbonisation.