The 2019 NextGeneration results were announced at the Launch on 3rd December, which brought together developers, investors and key stakeholders from across the sector. We were delighted to welcome Sarah Cary, the Executive Director of Place for Enfield Council, who gave an insightful keynote speech on the impact of climate change on Local Government services during the current heatwave, which will be a light prelude to future climate disruption. The Launch closed with a panel discussion between some of the leaders in the homebuilding industry, who discussed how their companies are addressing climate change:
- David Thomas, CEO of Barratt Developments
- Jon Di-Stefano, CEO of Telford Homes
- Justin Davies, Head of Development Operations, Lendlease
- Lee Bishop, Major Developments Director, Taylor Wimpey
Lendlease topped the 2019 Benchmark for the fourth year in a row with another strong performance, particularly across placemaking, health and safety and biodiversity. Telford Homes increased their ranking to second while Redrow and Barratt Developments plc came in third and fourth respectively, completing the group of companies that achieved a gold award. Taylor Wimpey secured fifth place and achieved a silver award.
Justin Davies, Head of Residential – Europe at Lendlease states: “Topping the benchmark again is really encouraging and testament to the hard work of everyone at Lendlease. As an industry we’re all doing our own bit to improve the way we build homes. But if we are going to see the changes required to meet the UK’s commitments on climate change then we are going to have to collaborate.
There are a number of areas where industry-wide sharing and collaborating could potentially trigger major improvements, especially in areas such as reducing embodied carbon in construction materials and establishing the best pathway to a zero-carbon future.”
Companies represented in the benchmark have a total turnover of over £33bn and account for 56% of all new homes built in the past year. NextGeneration’s 2019 rankings highlight a significant disparity between the transparency, impact and efforts of homebuilders publicly disclosing their efforts to improve the sustainability of their businesses. NextGeneration members continue to lead with a member average nearly double the overall industry average (74.7% compared to 32.3%), reflecting both the benefits of expert advice and peer learning, and the greater disclosure of sustainability information by members to the benchmark.
The 2019 NextGeneration report was also released at the Launch. It focuses on how climate change will affect the homebuilding industry and what can be done to mitigate the impacts. Key investor and regulatory drivers are explored and several future technologies that companies can use to “beat the heat” are highlighted. By taking a proactive approach to mitigating climate change risks and by anticipating future policy changes, homebuilders can place themselves in a strong position to financially succeed by futureproofing their homes and business.