Sustainability report 2025
-
Email
-
Facebook
-
Linkedin
-
Twitter
-
Whatsapp
11 November 2025
RICS’ Sustainability report 2025 examines sentiments from over 3,500 global professionals in the commercial real estate and construction sectors, in order to understand how the climate agenda is shaping trends and practices across the world.
This year’s report suggests that demand growth for green buildings has slowed, and the sector remains stagnant in adopting sustainable practices. While the 2025 RICS Sustainable Building Index (SBI) remains in positive territory, there are clear signs that momentum is stalling in the market. The report highlights that professional skills and knowledge should be developed to make meaningful progress in adopting sustainable practices. It also suggests that regulatory policies are more important than ever, as government support and collaborative partnerships will be essential to address ambitious climate goals.
Download this year’s report and infographic to gain critical regional insights and explore the policies driving decarbonisation in construction and the factors slowing growth.
Downloads
Published date: 10 November 2025
“Transformation across the built environment is necessary if we are to meet the challenge of climate change. This important RICS research shows progress but also clear signs of fatigue and uncertainty. In our 2025 report, the MEA region has emerged as a strong performer, with the report indicating demand growth outpacing all other regions studied. These developments offer valuable insights for global efforts in sustainability. Governments, industry and professional bodies must work together urgently to unlock investment, strengthen policy and scale up skills to deliver a truly sustainable future.”
Nicholas Maclean
Acting President, RICS
Key findings from the report
Sustainable buildings
Growth in demand for green buildings slows except in MEA
- MEA = +52
- UK = +43
- Europe = +39
- Asia Pacific = +27
- Americas = +11
What’s blocking sustainable investment?
- Initial costs
- Lack of ROI evidence
- Lack of investor awareness or client demand
Carbon emissions in construction
Lack of progress in measuring carbon emissions
- 46% of construction professionals don’t measure carbon across projects, up from 34% in 2024.
- 30% point towards insufficient knowledge and skills to reduce embodied carbon emissions.
Adoption of sustainability practices remain varied
- Lagging: 60%+ report carbon calculations and climate resilience assessments in less than half of projects or not at all.
- Gaining traction: 40% track waste reduction and data-sharing regularly.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity protection gains urgency
60% of professionals agree that the protection of biodiversity and the natural environment is a critical issue that needs to be addressed.
Climate resilience
Green building certification and, high adaptability and resilience are reported to be the most important features of a sustainable building for investors.
Across all regions surveyed, there is agreement that adaptation and resilience are considered critical by built environment stakeholders. MEA and APAC countries stand out, with higher shares of respondents than in other regions indicating strong or moderate agreement. This may reflect the heightened exposure of these regions to climate risks such as drought, heatwaves and water scarcity, which are increasingly influencing built environment priorities.
What happens next?
RICS recommends government policy measures to define pathways for decarbonisation and resilience building, mandate carbon assessment reporting, drive investments in green buildings and scale biodiversity measures. Find out more in the report.
