Meanwhile, seven in 10 CRE leaders in the Asia-Pacific say that they would be willing to pay a premium to lease a green certified building. Leasing spaces in green and sustainable buildings is becoming a non-negotiable for occupiers, and this alone should motivate landlords to consider retrofitting as well as avoiding brown discounts – where the value of a building without green credentials falls because it is unable to meet a tenant’s low-carbon targets – in the future. The acute shortage of green buildings and huge occupier demand for the same present a tremendous opportunity for early adopters of retrofitting.

The need to decarbonise buildings is clear, and so are the actions needed to achieve this goal. Maximising operational efficiencies, electrifying heat, incorporating on-site renewable energy, and sourcing off-site local renewable energy are key steps in this process. Rising energy costs and net-zero commitments are driving the energy retrofits in the built sector. The top five retrofitting priorities today, as identified by JLL research, are related to the energy-efficiency agenda.

One of the critical steps in accelerating the pace of retrofitting is to address the knowledge gap. This includes ensuring that building owners, contractors and workers have the necessary information, skills and tools to undertake retrofitting projects. This will require collaboration between government, industry and educational institutions to provide training and support.

In addition, scaling technology will be critical in accelerating the pace of retrofitting. This includes the development of innovative solutions for energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy sources, and the integration of smart building technology. These will help reduce the cost of retrofitting and make it more accessible to building owners.

The stakes are getting higher for assets that fall behind the sustainability curve. Risks of not acting range from brown discounts to more expensive financing for companies without robust decarbonisation plans.

We have a critical role to play within commercial real estate to have a meaningful and necessary impact on reducing global carbon emissions, and we can start right away. The technology, systems, processes and means to reach net-zero carbon and beyond exist today.

While there is no singular strategy, technology or entity that will address the journey, and neither is there a one-size-fits-all approach, retrofitting is a brighter and more intelligent way than focusing green ambitions purely on new builds. Effective decarbonisation of real estate requires a shift in mindset – away from needing to own or occupy the shiniest, amenity-laden new build on the block, and towards using clever design to reimagine an existing space that can still offer the same quality of environment and tenant experience as a new build.

While the scope and complexity of the challenge is immense, retrofitting existing buildings is the quickest and most cost-effective way to accelerate decarbonisation in the built environment.