What is the NextGeneration Initiative?
NextGeneration is the sustainability
benchmarking system for UK homebuilders.
NextGeneration enables homebuilders, government, registered providers, investors,
employees, and the public to understand the sustainability of benchmarked homebuilders’
operations and the new homes they build. It also sets out what good practice looks like
and drives change in the industry, with the criteria of the benchmarks being publicly
available. They assess homebuilders, not on whether they are meeting minimum
standards and mandatory disclosures, but going beyond these requirements.
Our History
The NextGeneration initiative was originally developed to build upon the successes of previous benchmarking exercises undertaken by Insight Investment and WWF UK. The NextGeneration Benchmark was designed to assess the sustainability of the largest homebuilders in the UK. In 2026, the NextGeneration Benchmark commemorates 20 years of assessing the UK homebuilding sector’s sustainability performance.
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
In 2026 the NextGeneration Executive Committee was restructured. Homes England and the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) have moved from the Executive Committee to a new Technical Advisory Group. In their new role, they will contribute specialised technical knowledge. Lloyds Banking Group continue to serve on the Executive Committee, maintaining their governance responsibilities. JLL will continue to be the Initiative administrator, managing the day-to-day running of the Initiative.
NEXTGENERATION SERVICES
NextGeneration offers a range of services that are suitable for different homebuilder sizes and sustainability
journey stages; NextGeneration Benchmark, NextGeneration Core & NextGeneration Project.
NEXTGENERATION BENCHMARK
25 largest homebuilders in the UK alongside
any voluntary participants
NEXTGENERATION CORE
is an intermediate corporate sustainability
benchmark for small to mid-size homebuilders to
measure their sustainability against best practice
NEXTGENERATION PROJECT
is a project-level sustainability assessment
for a wide range of homebuilders to measure
their performance on site
NEXTGENERATION SERVICES COMPARISON
Click to view comparison table
| NG Benchmark | NextGeneration Core | NextGeneration Project | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | - Corporate (i.e. company operations and developments). | - Corporate (i.e. company operations and developments) | - Individual development |
| Eligibility | - Largest 25 homebuilders in the UK by housing turnover and legal completions. | - Voluntary homebuilders smaller than the largest 25 in the UK | - Any voluntary homebuilder |
| Number of Criteria | - 12 criteria - 40 sub-criteria |
- 14 criteria - 18 sub-criteria |
- 12 criteria but outside the first three criteria, these are optional |
| Timing | - Occurs annually, starting in late summer 2026. | - Occurs throughout the year, but homebuilders must enter by 31st August for their results to be included in that year’s analysis | - Occurs throughout the year |
| Process Length | - 5 months | - 6 weeks minimum | - 6 weeks minimum |
| Outputs | - Annual Report outlining the results. - Additional services are available for homebuilders to receive a bespoke presentation of their results. |
- NextGeneration Core Assessment - NextGeneration Results Meeting | - NextGeneration Project Assessment - NextGeneration Project Label |
| Awards | - The highest performing homebuilders overall receive Gold, Silver or Bronze Awards. | - No awards currently available for this service. Instead, a score is provided. | - Developments receive Gold, Silver or Bronze Awards depending on the number of additional criteria they achieve - Bronze is 1+ - Silver is 4+ - Gold is 7+ |
"The housebuilding sector’s transition to Net Zero is fundamental to the resilience of both the industry and wider UK economy. We must deliver high quality, low carbon homes, that are fit for purpose to ensure we create inclusive and sustainable communities. The NextGeneration Benchmark helps to provide a roadmap to house builders and developers to turn ambition into credible action and delivery.”