What legacy does Starmer’s government leave behind for our sector?

One of the clearest successes was the publication of the Warm Homes Plan – the first long‑term national strategy of its kind, and something UKGBC and industry have long called for. With £15bn committed this Parliament, the plan finally set out a coherent approach to tackling fuel poverty, scaling heat pumps, expanding rooftop solar, and supporting low‑income households – but Starmer has stepped down just before the most important phase: delivery. The next government must build on this strong strategic platform, embedding real‑world lessons from local authorities, community groups and place‑based pilots, and ensuring resilience is not treated as an optional extra.

The Future Homes and Buildings Standard was another milestone. Starmer’s government chose the more ambitious option: no new gas boilers, mandatory rooftop solar, and improved energy efficiency for new homes. This shift will cut emissions from new build homes by around 75% and gives industry long‑awaited certainty. It’s a strong foundation, but there is more to do. Developers are already building to higher standards, and Burnham’s government will need to build on this momentum to close the gap on climate resilience, embodied carbon and long‑term affordability.

The Planning Bill passed, and the first update to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) made welcome improvements: stronger support for Local Plans, better design guidance, and encouragement of higher‑density development on brownfield land. But the reforms didn’t fully rise to the scale of the climate and nature crises. Climate, nature and community resilience still risk being treated as add‑ons rather than core principles. And the response to the latest NPPF consultation wasn’t completed before Starmer’s departure, leaving the new administration with the chance to provide clarity for local authorities and strengthen the planning systems role in delivering high‑quality, climate‑ready places.

Starmer’s government made meaningful progress on housing quality. The Renters’ Rights Bill, extension of Awab’s Law to the private rented sector, and reforms to the Decent Homes Standard will all strengthen protections for tenants. Crucially, MEES were strengthened across both private and social rented homes, aligning standards and tackling fuel poverty more consistently. The reform of the EPC system was another overdue improvement, moving toward multiple metrics and better alignment with modern policy priorities. Taken together, these reforms represent one of the most comprehensive boosts to housing quality in recent years.

For non‑domestic buildings, the long‑awaited uplift to MEES finally arrived: commercial buildings over 1,000m² must reach EPC B by 2031. After six years of delay, this announcement addressed a major uncertainty for industry and takes a significant step toward decarbonising commercial stock, but the job is not done yet. Burnham’s government should build on this progress, with in-use performance measurement and reporting, as well as measures like practical support for SME decarbonisation.

Despite welcome progress on retrofit and energy efficiency, Starmer’s government left a major gap on climate resilience. The CCC’s adaptation reports were unequivocal: the UK is not adapting fast enough, and action on resilience remains under‑resourced, under‑funded and fragmented. UKGBC’s Climate Resilience Roadmap sets out exactly what needs to change — clearer accountability, smarter investment, and integration of resilience across planning, building standards and retrofit. But national policy has yet to catch up. The Warm Homes Plan made a start with a nod to year-round comfort, but the UK still lacks a comprehensive adaptation strategy capable of protecting communities, buildings and infrastructure from escalating climate risks. This is one of the clearest opportunities for Burnham to accelerate progress.

Starmer’s government made a promising start on circular economy by commissioning a special task force, and on embodied carbon by responding to the AECOM report. However, we are yet to see the circular economy strategy, and there has been no further steps taken to regulate embodied carbon – leaving the new government with a well-defined area where further action could unlock major whole-life sustainability benefits for our sector.

For now, starmer’s legacy is a reminder that intent is not the same as action.”

The past two years have shown that high-level strategy can take shape quickly, but real-world delivery takes time. Industry is ready to invest, innovate and deliver, but only when government sets a stable course. As Burnham makes some welcome cabinet appointments and starts with promising policy interventions to address the cost of living by reducing the cost of electricity, the UKGBC policy team will be watching closely and preparing an analysis of what this new era means for our sector.

For now, Starmer’s legacy is a reminder that intent is not the same as action: his government established the right direction, made meaningful progress across many parts of the built environment, and leaves Burnham with a strong foundation to turn ambition into the tangible outcomes our homes and places urgently need.

Policy & Advocacy

Since 2007, we have been bringing together some of the most influential leaders in politics, business, local authorities, civil service and NGOs to accelerate action for a green built environment.

Learn more

Thank you to UKGBC’s policy partners for supporting our advocacy work this year.

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Homes shape the places around us: influencing our health, our connection to community, our access to nature, our energy use and our resilience to a changing climate. As the UK works to meet housing demand while responding to climate change and biodiversity loss, regenerative approaches to new housing and retrofit can help create healthier communities, restore nature and generate long-term local value.

UKGBC’s Regenerative Places Framework for Housing has been developed to support this shift from within our current system. Developed through engagement with a wide range of stakeholders across the built environment and beyond, the Framework sets out the key transitions needed, where and how projects can create long term local value, and the pathways to embed these approaches.

At this launch event, UKGBC will introduce the Framework and its core principles, share learning from the engagement process that shaped it, and hear from practitioners who are already applying regenerative approaches in real-world projects.

Who Is It For?

This event is ideal for designers, housebuilders, investors, local government and place-makers looking to ensure regenerative thinking is embedded within their work.

*This is a members-only event. Up to two people per organisation can attend.

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The CCC has made the challenge plain: the UK must adapt faster or face mounting threats to people, places and the economy. UKGBC’s Climate Resilience Roadmap shows how that shift can be made in practice, with joined-up action across the built environment and government. The challenge is serious, but it is not beyond us if we choose to act now.”

The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) latest assessment of climate risk is a clear and urgent signal that the UK must accelerate adaptation now. Climate impacts are already being felt across the country, and the report makes plain that higher temperatures, flooding, drought and cascading infrastructure risks will intensify unless government, business and communities act at pace. UKGBC strongly welcomes the CCC’s focus on practical, evidence-based action, and the emphasis on clear targets, delivery plans and accountability.

This message echoes what UKGBC has been saying through our Climate Resilience Roadmap, which sets out how the built environment can move from awareness of climate risk to assessment, prioritisation and implementation. We have long argued that resilience cannot sit in isolation: it must be integrated with decarbonisation, nature, health and wellbeing, and long-term value. The CCC’s report reinforces that approach, particularly in relation to homes, infrastructure, public services, and the need to protect the most vulnerable.

On the built environment, the CCC highlights the need for new buildings to be fit for a changing climate, for existing homes and assets to be retrofitted and upgraded, for better preparedness, and for cooling and water resilience to be addressed at scale. UKGBC’s Climate Resilience Roadmap supports exactly this shift: from broad ambition to the practical, site, portfolio, and community-level decisions needed to reduce risk and deliver more resilient places.

For industry, the message is straightforward. Climate resilience needs to become a core part of investment, design, planning, procurement and asset management. That means acting now on heat risk, flood risk, water scarcity and infrastructure interdependencies, and using the tools, standards and methods already available to make adaptation routine rather than exceptional.

For government, the priority is equally clear. The CCC sets out the case for stronger objectives, measurable targets, delivery plans and monitoring, backed by regulation, standards and investment. UKGBC support this direction and would add that policy must enable joined-up action across departments and sectors, so that resilience measures are not delivered piecemeal. Planning policy, building standards, infrastructure development, and funding programmes all need to reflect the climate risks we already face, and the more severe future risks that are now unavoidable.

There is a strong case for greater emphasis on nature-based solutions, passive cooling, flood risk management and long-term asset maintenance, all of which can deliver resilience and wider co-benefits. The CCC’s analysis shows that many adaptation actions are cost-effective today, and that delay only increases cost and harm. UKGBC believes this should galvanise a shift in both mindset and delivery: adaptation is no longer a future issue, but an immediate investment in safety, wellbeing and economic stability.

The CCC’s report and UKGBC’s Climate Resilience Roadmap both make the same case: adaptation needs to move from principle to practical delivery. The UK needs clear leadership, practical delivery and sustained investment to create a well-adapted built environment. The opportunity here is to reduce harm, protect lives and livelihoods, and create places that resilient, inclusive and fit for the climate reality we are already entering.

UK Climate Resilience Roadmap

This Roadmap sets out a vision for a climate resilient built environment, sharing clear recommendations for the industry and policy, and next steps needed to increase the climate resilience of our built environment.

Learn more

Policy & Advocacy

Since 2007, we have been bringing together some of the most influential leaders in politics, business, local authorities, civil service and NGOs to accelerate action for a green built environment.

Learn more

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This week, the Government set out its Warm Homes Plan, representing the most significant investment in our housing for a generation. Its primary aim is clear: cut energy bills and carbon emissions by retrofitting the UK’s notoriously draughty homes. It also, encouragingly, acknowledges that upgrades must deliver ‘year-round comfort’ and begin to address overheating through low-cost, practical interventions. This signals a welcome recognition that Britain’s homes must work for people in every season and not only be cheaper to heat in winter. The challenge and opportunity now lie in ensuring these ambitions translate into tangible, resilient outcomes alongside deep decarbonisation.

With Met Office figures showing 2025 as the UK’s warmest year on record,��the evidence could not be clearer that the climate crisis is accelerating. Homes across the country are overheating in summer, flooding in winter, and suffering damp and mould all year round. These are not isolated issues, but parts of the escalating climate crisis.

As Emma Howard Boyd CBE, who led the London Climate Resilience Review, puts it:

Making our homes energy-efficient and low-carbon is a vital step toward a better future. By integrating climate resilience – like flood protection and cooling – directly into the Warm Homes Plan, we create a win-win scenario: homes that are safe and comfortable to live in while being more affordable to run.”

The risks are stark. The Climate Change Committee’s 2025 Adaptation Report projects that heat-related deaths could triple by mid-century without urgent action. Poorly ventilated airtight homes will trap heat. Inadequate moisture management will exacerbate damp and mould. And flooding will cause devastating disruption if we do not adapt homes to withstand it. These failures would undermine the very purpose of the retrofit programme: to improve comfort, health and security for households.

The solutions are well within reach. Practical, low-regret measures can be integrated seamlessly into retrofit: shading and ventilation to manage heat, flood resistance for homes in at-risk areas, and water efficiency to prepare for drought. It is heartening that the Warm Homes Plan outlines the inclusion of passive cooling measures, such as internal blinds, shutters, reflective window films, and effective building materials, especially within low-income and social housing schemes. This provides a foundation we can build on together, while also integrating nature-based solutions such as green roofs, rain gardens and street trees that reduce both flood and heat risks while boosting biodiversity and wellbeing. As Howard Boyd says: “Resilience is not an add-on. It’s about creating homes that actually work for people all year round, being cool in summer, warm in winter, and dry when it floods.”

The Government’s commitment to exploring overheating metrics within Energy Performance Certificates marks constructive progress. The next step is to embed adaptation considerations systematically within retrofit programmes so that every funded upgrade supports adaptation as well as efficiency. Doing so would unlock far more than energy savings. It would cut NHS costs, protect the most vulnerable, and help communities withstand the physical shocks that climate change will continue to bring. It would also deliver wider social benefits including cleaner air, greener streets, and stronger, healthier communities.

Delivering on this shared ambition will require government, local authorities, industry and civil society to work together.

In implementing the commitments of the Warm Homes Plan, we urge the Government to:

Set

standards that demand retrofit delivers resilience alongside energy efficiency.

Align

climate, health and housing policy, recognising the shared benefits.

Invest

in skills and innovation so the workforce can deliver resilient retrofit at scale.

Back

place-based and nature-based approaches that strengthen communities as well as homes.

Work

collaboratively with partners to test and scale no-regret adaptation measures across housing types, ensuring no household is left behind.

What’s needed now is coordinated action and sustained collaboration.”

We know the risks, and we know the solutions. What’s needed now is coordinated action and sustained collaboration. The Warm Homes Plan provides the right foundation to future-proof Britain’s housing and safeguard people’s lives and livelihoods. By working together to integrate resilience fully into delivery, we can ensure that the retrofit revolution creates homes that are not only low carbon, but truly climate-ready.

Unpacking the Warm Homes Plan: Member Town Hall and Discussion

Join us for this interactive town hall to unpack and share insights on the Government’s new Warm Homes Plan.

Learn more and register here

UK Climate Resilience Roadmap

This Roadmap sets out a vision for a climate resilient built environment, sharing clear recommendations for the industry and policy, and next steps needed to increase the climate resilience of our built environment.

Learn more

The Warm Homes and Buildings Plan: UKGBC Policy Team Analysis

The UKGBC policy team give you an overview of the long-awaited Warm Homes Plan, with more insights in our full analysis.

Learn more

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This Warm Homes Plan represents a vital and necessary step towards delivering comfortable, affordable and future-proofed homes and buildings across the UK.

UKGBC has long issued a clarion call for a long-term national strategy to tackle the challenge of retrofitting all our homes and commercial buildings at scale, and we are pleased to have worked alongside industry and government to help shape its development.

We welcome the ambition for a solar ‘rooftop revolution’, low interest loans to help households wean themselves off volatile fossil fuels, and the focus on protecting low-income householders. By harnessing abundant solar energy and heat pump technology to both heat and cool buildings, the plan will help future-proof against rising bills and our rapidly warming climate.”

Our Analysis

Key Figures

£15bn of public funding confirmed for home retrofit this Parliament:

£5 bn

for low-income schemes

£2 bn

consumer loans

£2.7 bn

for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme

£1.1 bn

for Heat Networks

£2.7 bn

innovative finance through the Warm Homes Fund to invest in home upgrades

£1.5 bn

other funding for Warm Homes Plan Programmes and Devolved Administrations

The government’s Warm Homes Plan marks a significant moment for the UK’s housing stock. With £15��billion��of public funding committed this Parliament, the Plan sets out an ambitious programme to cut energy bills permanently, tackle fuel poverty,��and accelerate the transition to low-carbon homes.

At the heart of the Plan is a strong focus on technologies that can help households reduce their energy costs. Rooftop solar is positioned as a central pillar, with the government estimating that measures in the Plan could support solar installations on up to three million��additional��homes by 2030. Combined with falling costs and existing market demand, this could more than double the rate of deployment seen over the last fifteen years.

UKGBC welcomes the focus on clean energy technologies,��but��we are��also��clear that building fabric must remain a core part of the solution. The Plan rightly recognises that��insulation and other fabric measures, when installed with��appropriate ventilation, are a cornerstone of energy efficiency, particularly for low-income households, but with��the overall emphasis increasingly leans toward technologies such as solar and batteries as the primary routes to bill reduction.����

There was much needed focus on adaptation and resilience, with an extension of Boiler Upgrade Scheme support for air-to-air heat pumps, which can provide cooling as well as heating. As the UK faces hotter summers alongside colder winters, ensuring homes deliver year-round comfort is increasingly important, as demonstrated in UKGBC’s industry-leading Climate Resilience Roadmap.��

A major strength of the Warm Homes Plan is its focus on low-income households. £5 billion is allocated to fully funded retrofit packages, with a target to lift up to one million families out of fuel poverty. Delivery will increasingly be led by local authorities and housing associations, with a move toward a single, streamlined low-income scheme. This place-based approach reflects best practice and aligns closely with UKGBC’s Local Area Retrofit Accelerator work. Coordinating upgrades at neighbourhood scale can deliver better outcomes, from lower bills and improved health to local jobs and regeneration. 

The introduction of a government-backed consumer loan offer is another important development. UKGBC has long called for accessible, low-cost finance to support home upgrades, and these low-interest loans will play a valuable role in unlocking private investment and supporting households who want to act. 

The Plan also provides long-awaited clarity on Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for rented homes. Aligning standards across the private and social rented sectors by 2030 is��an important step��in protecting renters from high energy bills and poor living conditions.��Additional reform of Energy Performance Certificates,��offers an opportunity to provide clearer, more��accurate��information about the most��appropriate upgrades��for different homes.��

The creation of a new Warm Homes Agency to coordinate delivery, consumer advice and oversight is a welcome move��–��consumer confidence, quality assurance and clear redress mechanisms are essential for success at scale.��The Plan also recognises the importance of skills, supply��chains��and UK manufacturing, including continued support for training and an ambition for 70% of heat pumps installed in the UK to be manufactured domestically by 2035.��

The challenge now is delivery��and getting the transition from old to new right.��UKGBC looks forward to working with government and industry to turn this Plan into action on the ground.��

Unpacking the Warm Homes Plan: Member Town Hall and Discussion

Join us for this interactive town hall to unpack and share insights on the Government’s new Warm Homes Plan.

Learn more and register here

Policy & Advocacy

Since 2007, we have been bringing together some of the most influential leaders in politics, business, local authorities, civil service and NGOs to accelerate action for a green built environment.

Learn more

The post The Warm Homes and Buildings Plan: UKGBC Policy Team Analysis appeared first on UKGBC.

Who should attend?

This course will be most relevant to built environment professionals who are striving to maximise social value outcomes. 

Other Information

Course leader 

Oliver Kempton, Partner at Envoy Partnership. Oliver is a Social Value International Level 3 Accredited Practitioner and was a member of UKGBC’s Social Value Task Group. He sits on the Social Value International methodology sub-committee, and the BREEAM Social Impact Technical Working Group. 

Keystone members are offered a 15% discount for this course. For more information please contact: learning@ukgbc.org 

CDP hours: 6 

Delivering this course for your team 

UKGBC can offer this course/programme as a closed course for your team or people from across only your organisation. Please get in touch with us to discuss your requirements learning@UKGBC.org 

UKGBC cancellation and refund policy 

Please see our website for more details on our cancellations and refunds: /ukgbc-cancellation-and-refund-policy/  

The post Social Value in the Built Environment – March 2026 (London) appeared first on UKGBC.

Key trends highlighted in the report include:

Increased focus on resilience

This includes not only climate resilience, but social and financial resilience, shaping design, investment and operational priorities.

A move towards action

With more organisations entering the implementation phase of transition plans, exposing the gap between strategic ambition and the realities of delivery.

From values to value

Clients and investors are increasingly demanding proof of commercial, social and environmental returns, shifting the sustainability conversation from principles to performance.

Technology development

Rapid advances, particularly in AI, offer powerful tools for optimisation and decarbonisation, while introducing new energy, water and resource challenges.

Scaling-up

Innovation in materials, construction systems and digital platforms continues to expand, but adoption remains constrained by capacity, trust and fragmented markets.

Grid capacity and energy systems

Despite substantial national investment, local constraints and long connection queues persist. With growing battery storage and buildings acting as active energy assets, the built environment’s role in system flexibility continues to increase.

Yetunde Abdul, Director of Industry Transformation, UKGBC, said:

As a network that brings together innovators, practitioners and thought leaders from right across the built environment, ������Ƶ uniquely placed to spot the shifts shaping our sector. This report distils the insights we hear every day from our members, partners and industry who are working at the leading edge of delivery. We publish it each year to help industry navigate complexity and to shine a light on the solutions and approaches gaining real traction.“

Emily-Rose Garnett, Senior Advisor – Solutions & Innovation, UKGBC, said:

The insights in this report are grounded in what we’re hearing on the ground: organisations working out how to responsibly use technology and AI, scale retrofit, close performance gaps, rethink materials, engage supply chains and build climate resilience. It paints a picture of an industry that is working to transition from intent to action, but grappling with the challenges required to achieve this. As we enter 2026, our hope is that industry and government recognise the scale of the opportunity ahead, and the transformative impact we can unlock through collective action.” 

Solutions & Advisory

At UKGBC we take a collaborative approach to identify and showcase innovative solutions and support with their scaling and implementation.

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Access the Report by filling out the form below:

This report is intended as a signpost for industry to key developments and reflect what ������Ƶ hearing from industry and in research by others.�� While this is a summary of some of the notable trends, solutions and examples of which UKGBC has become aware, there are likely to be others that are not mentioned. UKGBC does not formally endorse any of the individual solutions listed.����

Solutions and Innovation

At UKGBC we take a collaborative approach to identify sustainability challenges across the built environment and help source and implement the solutions to them.

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The post Trends in Sustainable Solutions 2025 appeared first on UKGBC.

What if, every time we built or retrofitted something, the communities and ecosystems around us got better?

‘Regenerative’ principles are being discussed within the built environment at an increasing rate. However, there is a lack of consensus within industry on what we mean by ‘regenerative’, and particularly how, and at what stage principles should be implemented, or outcomes measured.

The Regenerative Places Framework Task Group will explore this crucially important challenge, building the compelling case to industry and policy makers for the benefits of place-based regenerative approaches, and examining the pathways, approaches, and shifts in practice needed to achieve more regenerative outcomes on projects.

The Task Group is considering how regenerative approaches can be applied to the retrofit of existing homes and communities at scale, and additional housing that meets local community needs and aspirations. Informed by UKGBC’s Regenerative Places programme, including the Local Authority Retrofit Accelerator pilot projects delivered by The MCS Foundation, this project aims to develop guidance for industry and policy makers on how to embed regenerative approaches into projects from the earliest design stages, delivering tangible social, environmental and long-term economic value. With nearly 19 million poorly rated homes and interconnected housing and climate challenges, there’s a pressing need for transformative action.

Task Group members:

Thank you to our Regenerative Places Programme Partners for their ongoing support:

We’re also grateful for the support of the MCS Foundation

Regenerative Places Programme

Our programme utilises a place-based retrofit strategy to enhance local network capacity, strengthen resilience against future climate-related challenges, and deliver broad regenerative benefits to communities.

Learn more

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The Regenerative Places Framework Task Group will explore this crucially important challenge, building the compelling case to industry and policy makers for the benefits of place-based regenerative approaches, and examining the pathways, approaches, and shifts in practice needed to achieve more regenerative outcomes on projects.

The Task Group will consider how regenerative approaches can be applied to the retrofit of existing homes and communities at scale, and additional housing that meets local community needs and aspirations. Informed by UKGBC’s Regenerative Places programme, including the Local Authority Retrofit Accelerator pilot projects delivered by The MCS Foundation, this project aims to develop guidance for industry and policy makers on how to embed regenerative approaches into projects from the earliest design stages, delivering tangible social, environmental and long-term economic value. With nearly 19 million poorly rated homes and interconnected housing and climate challenges, there’s a pressing need for transformative action.

Task Group Purpose

The Task Group will contribute significantly to the project’s core content. It will ensure that the guidance builds on existing industry knowledge and initiatives and that the output is of a quality and form that is practicable to the intended industry professionals. We will therefore be seeking a level of knowledge and understanding of existing/emerging related industry initiatives.

To address the wide range of local benefits to regenerative approaches, and in line with this project’s systems-led and place-based approach, we are keen to involve representatives from non-member organisations that are part of wider stakeholder ecosystems. These include, but are not limited to:

• National community organisations / networks (including community energy, community land trusts, housing and tenant associations, and social justice advocates)
• National wildlife and environmental organisations / networks
• Training and skills providers
• Public health bodies
• Energy generation and supply organisations

Applications for the Task Group close on Monday 22nd September 2025.

������Ƶ committed to actively targeting a diverse representation in the composition of all project groups. We want to be inclusive to everyone regardless of ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs and encourage our members to support our desire. While applicants will be chosen based on their experience, we encourage consideration of the above when putting forward individuals to apply.

If you would like to participate but cannot follow the standard application process for any reason, please reach out via policy@ukgbc.org.

We are also still looking for additional funding partners. Please see further details here and get in touch if you would like to find out more.

Regenerative Places Programme Partners

Regenerative Places Programme

Our programme utilises a place-based retrofit strategy to enhance local network capacity, strengthen resilience against future climate-related challenges, and deliver broad regenerative benefits to communities.

Learn more

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