The evolving ESG landscape for commercial property lawyers
Summary
The article argues that ESG is becoming a central part of commercial property decision-making, with environmental risk now influencing due diligence, valuation and portfolio strategy. It highlights UK government reform of the EPC regime and a shift toward earlier access to environmental information in transactions.
Why it matters
Although focused on commercial property, the trends described are relevant to residential surveyors because they point to wider market expectations around energy performance, climate risk and environmental disclosure. Surveyors may increasingly need to consider how these factors affect asset value, marketability and risk assessment.
Key points
- ESG is moving from a compliance issue to a core risk-management concern.
- UK government is reforming the EPC regime to provide more meaningful building performance information.
- Climate due diligence is increasingly treated as part of mainstream transaction and portfolio risk management.
- Physical climate risks such as flooding, heat stress, wildfires and subsidence are being assessed alongside transition risks.
- There is a push for EPC and environmental information to be available earlier in the marketing and transaction process.
This is an RPSA summary of a publicly available article. The full content remains with the original publisher.
