Solving the environmental ‘value-action gap’ in our buildings

According to the UK Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 81 percent of UK residents are concerned about climate change, however, much fewer households report engaging in energy saving behaviours. This means there is a significant gap between our espoused values (what we say to others about our beliefs) and our actions. As an example, well over half of sampled UK households report regularly leaving their heating on while not in the home (see chart below).

This presents an obvious problem. Decision makers cannot simply rely on good intentions when it comes to environmentally sustainable real estate. An insightful example of this is offered by Energy Systems Catapult. They claim that in order to meet the 2050 net zero carbon emissions target, 20,000 UK homes will need to be converted to low carbon heating each week. Currently, the rate is 20,000 homes per year.

In our upcoming white paper titled Real Estate and Environmental Performance — Bridging the gap with PropTech, we also discuss unsustainable behaviour in commercial real estate. According to the Environmental Protection Agency in the US, 30 percent of all energy used in commercial buildings is wasted. Due to the unique weather patterns in the UK, it is not uncommon for a building to be both heating and cooling at the same time — usually as a result of poorly configured HVAC systems.

As you’ll see in our report, PropTech solutions within the Pi Labs ecosystem are mitigating this financial and environmental underperformance. Demand Logic, for instance, offers real time insights into a building’s performance (including energy efficiency and plant machinery parameters). In the case of Switchee, it’s about actively optimising boiler systems to meet demand — reducing energy consumption and energy bills.

Throughout the real estate value chain, a growing list of PropTech platforms are presenting themselves as a necessary part of the mission to net zero. This is why environmental sustainability is one of the key themes of Fund III at Pi Labs. If you’re an entrepreneur working on a solution in this space, we’d love to hear from you. If you’re a real estate professional who wants to know more about how you can reduce both the financial and environmental costs of your assets, keep your eye out for the launch of our report in November.

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