Press release, London, 10 December 2024
Xynteo, a purpose-led advisory firm with 20 years of experience in forming impactful partnerships, has launched the Build Ahead UK coalition, a business-led alliance bringing together key majors – Santander UK, PLP Architecture, and the Accelerating Concrete Decarbonisation Group supported by Derwent London.
This partnership builds on the success of Xynteo’s Build Ahead coalition in India, an industry-first coalition of forward-leaning businesses, which was launched in 2022 to support India’s pledge of achieving net-zero emissions by increasing the adoption of low carbon building materials in real estate, construction, and infrastructure projects.
Build Ahead UK is a partnership of progressive companies seeking to develop the UK’s first truly zero carbon buildings – and shape the market for the next 10,000. The coalition is focused on creating tangible outcomes by bringing together pockets of excellence from across the value chain to demonstrate the art of the possible in the UK. Meeting this ambition requires sourcing, testing, and scaling zero carbon materials, data-driven design with a view to longer-term sustainability, testing and implementing new technologies, and prioritising holistic sustainability beyond carbon.
Emrah Durusut, Senior Partner, Xynteo, said: “We are proud to launch Build Ahead UK to create the momentum that the industry needs to deliver sustainable and commercially viable buildings. We already see significant demand from our global partners for sustainable and low carbon solutions across all sectors and that’s why we’ve set the lofty ambition of creating the UK’s first end-to-end truly zero carbon and holistically sustainable buildings. To get there, we need to undertake several different market enabling projects as well as demonstration projects. We want to inspire the market and the government to create a movement. With the power of the collective, we can accelerate the change we need.”
On the coalition, Fiona Hyde, Head of Sustainable and Responsible Banking, Santander, said: “We are proud and excited to be founding members of Build Ahead UK. At Santander, we trust in the power of collaboration to support a secure and inclusive transition to a more sustainable economy. We want to help our clients and partners to access the network, information, and tools they need to enable sustainable growth. Through Build Ahead UK, we believe we can apply a “test and learn” model, taking action to push for system-wide decarbonisation and to consider demand and finance as a key enabler.”
Lee Polisano, President and Founding Partner of PLP Architecture, commented: “PLP Architecture has designed some of the world’s most innovative and sustainable buildings. We are keen to share our expertise through the Build Ahead UK coalition to support more widespread progress. The UK has one of the world’s oldest building stocks, and we need accurate data, integrated modelling, and system-wide cohesion to upgrade this stock, and create new buildings that meet the needs of the era. We see Build Ahead UK as an excellent way to enable this change and look forward to everything that is to come.”
The coalition has four key objectives:
- Source, facilitate, and enable testing and uptake of innovative materials and technology to reduce embodied and operational carbon in tandem
- Engage with senior leaders from local and national government as a forward-leaning unique partnership to inform key regulation and policies on embodied carbon, retrofit vs. redevelopment, and others
- Bring together pockets of excellence across the value chain from emerging clean-materials to future-focused design and development
- Showcase the art of the possible by delivering multiple pilot projects, culminating in a flagship project in London, and create commercial opportunity for partners
To commemorate the launch, Xynteo and partners hosted leaders from across the ecosystem, including developers, architects, financial institutions, engineering firms, construction contractors, non-profits, and government representatives at the White Chapel Building in London on Tuesday 3rd December. The evening featured engaging collaborative sessions focused on three of the five Coalition workstreams, including building green demand and finance, driving sustainable design, and accelerating uptake of clean technology and materials. The event markets the first in many more system-wide engagement activities Build Ahead UK will pursue.
In the UK, buildings are the second largest source of emissions[1], with 49% of the UK’s emissions arising from the built environment[2]. The IEA estimates that we will fall short of our 2050 net zero target by 60% in the current business-as-usual scenario[3]. Now, with the new labour government’s promise of 1.5 million new homes in the next five years, growing need for decarbonised heating, and changing occupier preferences, it is vital to invest in sustainability from a whole life carbon perspective. Adopting innovation in new builds and redevelopment across the country will go a long way in supporting a sustainable built environment.
Benjamin Lesser, Head of Design and Innovation, Derwent London, commented: “At Derwent, doing more with less has always been in our DNA and design-approach. The embodied carbon of sub- and super-structure, however, is the next major challenge, so through our initiative, Accelerating Concrete-Decarbonisation Group (AC-DG), we’ve been working to bridge the gap between supply of low to zero carbon concrete, specification needs and market demand. Build Ahead UK offers us an important platform to build on this vital work, while addressing many of the other challenges to creating true net zero buildings. Even in a tough market for developers, we can’t afford to take our eye off carbon and sustainable construction in this decisive decade. We look forward to working closely with Xynteo and partners through the Build Ahead UK coalition to increase the supply of fit-for-purpose low carbon materials. Through this ecosystem collaboration, we see great potential to pilot new technologies and feedback our findings to the wider market and policymakers.”
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About Xynteo
Xynteo is a global advisory firm that uses the power of collaboration to unlock People and Planet Positive Growth. Over the past 20 years, Xynteo has designed and delivered impactful partnerships and coalitions to turn systemic challenges into opportunities for growth.
About Santander UK
Santander UK is a large retail and commercial bank based in the UK who have initiatives aimed at helping their customers with their net zero transition and to help grow the number of people with the skills they need to thrive in the future.
About PLP Architecture
PLP Architecture is a London-based group of architects, designers and thinkers who value the transformative role of ideas and the capacity for architecture to inspire.
About Derwent London
Derwent London is a British-based property investment and development business whose purpose is to design and curate long-life, low carbon, intelligent offices that contribute to London’s position as a leading global city.
About Accelerating Concrete-Decarbonisation Group (AC-DG)
Accelerating Concrete-Decarbonisation Group (AC-DG) includes leading Developers (Derwent London, British Land, Brockton Everlast, Canary Wharf, Great Portland Estate, Imperial, Landsec, Related Argent, Stanhope, The Crown Estate), Engineers (AKT II, Arup, Buro Happold, Elliott Wood, HTS, Ramboll, WSP), Industry Groups (Global Concrete & Cement Association, IStructE, The Concrete Centre. The Mineral Products Association), and Concrete Suppliers (Capital Concrete, Cemex, CRH, Heidelberg Materials, Holcim) plus others.
Xynteo Media Contact: Nicolas Midegs, Head of Marketing, nm@xynteo.com
[1] “Decarbonising the built environment Government policy scorecard”, UKGBC, 2022
[2] The Whole Life Carbon Roadmap”, UKGBC, 2022
[3] World Energy Outlook 2021, IEA, 2021
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