The One With... the Team Who Mapped Every Barrier to Scaling Sustainability in Real Estate — UKGBC

This episode is sponsored by MapMortar - the capital planning management tool that turns portfolio risk from a spreadsheet headache into a boardroom-ready capital plan in around 50% of the time and cost. Check out https://mapmortar.io—The built environment doesn't have an innovation problem. It has a scaling problem.Emily-Rose Garnett and Philippa Birch-Wood of the UK Green Building Council authored the report mapping why sustainable solutions in real estate keep dying in pilot. Alex — who once ran innovation inside a major property firm — recognised every barrier in it.The solutions we need mostly already exist. The problem is systemic, not technical: risk-averse cultures, a certification catch-22 that starves materials innovators, and pilots never designed to scale.In this episode:→ Why the sector's problem is scaling and adoption, not a lack of ideas→ The certification catch-22 blocking low-carbon materials→ The funding gap that kills hardware innovators between pilot and manufacture→ Demand aggregation, collaborative pilots and collective insetting as fixes→ Who should lead — developers, the big advisory firms, or networks→ Whether the AI budget scramble is slowing everything else downTimestamps:[00:05:00] Not short of solutions — short of scaling[00:07:00] The seven barrier categories[00:11:00] The vicious circle blocking materials innovation[00:16:00] Demand aggregation and low-carbon concrete[00:18:00] The real pace of change in real estate[00:22:00] 20 years in real estate and never meeting[00:33:00] Where do JLL and CBRE actually sit?[00:41:00] Dropping "positive disruptors" into design teams[00:52:00] How AI budgets slow every other decision[01:01:00] Magic wand: consistency and sharing what failsOrganisations MentionedUK Green Building Council (UKGBC)Innovate UKESBEM — Emergent Sustainable Built Environment Materials innovation networkAccelerating Concrete Decarbonisation GroupFORE PartnershipBreakthrough Energy2150JLLCBRECushman & WakefieldLaSalle Investment ManagementMapMortar (episode sponsor)Reports & Tools MentionedScaling Sustainable Solutions for the Built Environment: Barriers & Enablers (UKGBC)Commercial Retrofit Innovation Map (UKGBC)UKGBC Solutions & Innovation Advisory GroupInnovate UK ESBEM UKGBC Solutions LibraryThe Future We Build is a podcast exploring sustainability, innovation and systemic change in the built environment, hosted by Alex Edds.New episodes released weekly. Recorded at Podcast Rooms.With thanks to the production team at Atalor.Follow the Show and connect with AlexLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-future-we-buildLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexeddsMore About Our GuestsEmily-Rose Garnett — Senior Advisor, Solutions & Innovation, UKGBC. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/emily-rose-garnett-381943109Philippa Birch-Wood — Head of Climate Action, UKGBC. Profile: ukgbc.org/our-teamOrganisation: UK Green Building Council — ukgbc.org