From ethics to earnings: is ESG for real estate just risk and reward?

To unpack how ESG is evolving into a conversation about risk, resilience and returns, Flora Harley, Head of Knight Frank’s Energy & Sustainability Research joins us on this week's episode.We explore why ESG is increasingly being reframed as operational performance, how occupiers and investors are prioritising energy efficiency, cost certainty and liquidity, and where sustainability initiatives genuinely protect long‑term value. From electrification and energy‑use intensity to lending, insurance and the emerging “brown discount”, this episode cuts through the jargon to focus on what really matters.If you want a clear, practical take on ESG, without the buzzwords, this one’s for you.Hosted by Will Matthews, Knight Frank’s Head of Commercial Insight. For more insights like this, subscribe to Will's newsletter for his weekly take on commercial real estate markets. Produced by Rethink Audio.