The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has launched its Transition Risk Assessment (TRA) Guidelines as part of its C Change programme to help decarbonise the built environment across Europe.

The guidelines, which are the first practical output of the C Change programme, provide a common methodology to assess and disclose transition risks as part of property valuations. They identify 12 transition risks which are of material impact to real estate assets now and in the future including the cost of decarbonisation, energy costs and tenant voids.

Speaking at the ULI Europe Conference in Madrid this week, CEO, Lisette van Doorn explained, “These guidelines are the vital underpinning the industry needs to assess and build the business case for decarbonisation across our portfolios. This is not just about the capital expenditure but also about value preservation. We believe these guidelines will help build evidence to better understand the upside of decarbonising such as more resilient assets, lower occupational costs and new income streams.”

C Change collaborated with more than 75 companies and industry associations to first develop a set of consultation guidelines, which were released last October, before the final version was released this week.

The guidelines are a vital measure to address the environmental side of the transition to a low-carbon built environment but are also of enormous social importance to our communities. Van Doorn added, “Our guidelines put us on the path to support the transition of all buildings in urban areas. Cities are complex ecosystems and if we do not remain alert to it, stranding assets will feed into a cycle of urban decline. We owe it to our cities to make this a fair transition to ensure they remain investable and liveable.”

Incorporating transition risks into property valuations was identified by C Change as one of 13 intervention points where direct action to unlock barriers to change could be transformative for the decarbonisation of the industry. These 13 intervention points were the result of an extensive review undertaken by systems change consultant 103 ventures of the biggest barriers to the green transition of the industry in Europe.

Please see the guidelines here.

Ends

For further information please contact: Gemma Haimes, Marketing & Communications, ULI Europe, [email protected]

Notes to Editors

The ULI report on, Breaking the value Deadlock: Enabling Action on Decarbonisation details the reasons that understanding and assessing transition risks is an important part of the green transition.

About the Urban Land Institute

The Urban Land Institute is a non-profit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has over 48,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.

ULI’s mission priorities that the organisation will be focusing on over the next three years include: decarbonising the real estate sector and targeting net zero; educating the next generation of diverse real estate leaders; and, increasing housing attainability in communities around the world.

ULI has almost 5,000 members in Europe across 15 National Council country networks. For more information, please visit europe.uli.org, or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

About 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.