The NextGeneration Launch Event took place on December 10th to announce this year’s Benchmark results. The event was hosted both in person at JLL’s Central London office and streamed online. JLL’s Head of Sustainability for EMEA and UK Markets, Emma Hoskyn hosted the event, guiding discussions on this year’s theme, which emphasises how homebuilders are balancing their sustainability priorities amid an uncertain market.
Smith Mordak, Chief Executive of UKGBC, delivered an insightful keynote speech highlighting the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the UK’s built environment and stressing the need for climate resilience. They which underscores urgent climate hazards affecting the UK and advocates for a systemic approach to achieve a climate-resilient built environment, in alignment with climate mitigation efforts. Their keynote speech concluded with an exploration of innovative solutions for the sector, including sustainable materials, construction methods, and water and energy solutions for new homes. Top of Form Following the keynote speech, the highly anticipated 2024 Benchmark results were announced, and awards were presented to this year’s top-performing homebuilders.
The event concluded with a panel discussion featuring esteemed industry leaders. The panel, chaired by Emma Hoskyn, included Smith Mordak; Caroline Booth, Sustainability Manager at Barrat Redrow; Simon Park, Group Head of Sustainability at Bellway Homes; and Marcus Dixon, Head of Living and Residential Research at JLL. The panel participated in insightful discussions focused on sustaining the momentum of sustainability initiatives during economic uncertainty. They also explored ways to better quantify and communicate the local economic benefits of projects, alongside discussions on how to address key industry challenges through innovation.
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NextGeneration 2024 Sustainability Benchmark Results
Barratt Developments has secured the top position in the NextGeneration Benchmark, ranking as the highest-rated national homebuilder. After four consecutive years in 2nd place, this achievement underscores its steadfast dedication to enhancing the sustainability of its homes and operations. Latimer has displayed substantial improvement, rising to 2nd place, while Hill Group rose to 3rd place, gaining five points and surpassing the Gold Award threshold. Rounding out the top six are London Square, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Group. In addition, Bellway Homes demonstrated a very strong performance in its first year of membership. There has also been a notable score improvement from Strata, the 2nd smallest homebuilder in the Benchmark, who has risen from 16th place to 10th place, with an increase of 18 points from the previous year.
In addition to achieving the highest score on the benchmark, Barratt Developments also won the Crystal Award, for achieving the highest score based purely on publicly available information.
Sarah Pratt, Acting Group Sustainability Director at Barratt Redrow PLC said: “We are delighted that our approach to transparent disclosure continues to be recognised by the NextGeneration Benchmark. Looking ahead, core to the new combined Barratt Redrow Group is our commitment to delivering excellence and driving innovation through quality, service and sustainability.”
NextGeneration members continue to lead, with their average score climbing from 61 to 66. However, the severe economic challenges of 2023 have clearly impacted the sector, as reflected in the decline of the industry average score from 39 to 37. The widening gap between member and industry averages highlights the tangible benefits of expert guidance, peer learning, and the more comprehensive disclosure of sustainability information by Benchmark members.
The launch event also marked the release of the 2024 NextGeneration report, now available to download from the Reports section of the NextGeneration website. In line with the event, the focus of this year’s report is centred around homebuilders balancing their sustainability priorities amid an uncertain market. The report includes the Benchmarking results for the year, Benchmark highlights and spotlight sections on Reporting, Waste and Circular Economy, and Socio-Economic Development.
If you have any further questions about NextGeneration, or would like more information on Membership, please reach out to Ellen.Hayward@jll.com.