Scaling Sustainable Solutions for the Built Environment: Barriers & Enablers

This report identifies the barriers preventing sustainable solutions from moving beyond pilots and sets out practical enablers that industry can implement now.

Climate Change Adaptation Climate Change Mitigation Nature Technical Report

Many of the sustainable solutions needed to deliver a net zero, nature-positive and climate-resilient built environment already exist. The challenge is not innovation alone, but ensuring these solutions are adopted widely and consistently across projects, portfolios and organisations.

This report explores the systemic barriers that are slowing adoption and sets out practical enablers to help overcome them. It is the first output of UKGBC’s Scaling Sustainable Solutions Initiative, which aims to accelerate the widespread uptake of sustainable solutions across the built environment.

Why this report matters

Despite rapid innovation across materials, digital technologies, construction systems and business models, many solutions remain underutilised. Fragmented decision-making, risk-averse cultures, misaligned procurement models and limited access to scale-up finance continue to hold back progress.

Without faster adoption, the industry risks higher long-term costs, missed opportunities, and slower progress towards net zero and more resilient places. This report focuses on what needs to change to move from isolated innovation to system-wide implementation.

Drawing on insights from a broad range of stakeholders, built environment practitioners and industry experts, the report identifies seven key themes that influence whether solutions scale: organisational readiness; adopter needs and solution; finance and business models; certification and verification; risk, insurance and warranties; delivery and implementation; outcomes and knowledge sharing.

Across these themes, the report sets out 77 actionable enablers to support organisations in accelerating adoption.

Barriers to scaling are largely systemic rather than technical.

Organisational processes, procurement practices, financing structures and risk frameworks often slow adoption more than technological limitations.

“Pilotisation” is slowing progress.

Pilots are often not designed with clear routes to portfolio-wide adoption. Without defined success criteria, scaling pathways and procurement alignment, innovation stalls.

Clear demand signals and better alignment between adopters and solution providers are critical.

Solutions are more likely to scale when they meet operational, financial and delivery needs of organisations implementing them.

Evidence, certification and risk frameworks build market confidence.

Demonstration projects, trusted verification systems and clearer approaches to insurance and warranties can help reduce perceived risk.

Collaboration is key.

Scaling sustainable solutions requires coordinated action across the value chain. Collaboration between developers, asset owners, contractors, manufacturers, investors, insurers and policymakers is essential to unlock widespread adoption.

Download the report here

These one-page guides give an overview of the priority enablers for solutions providers, adopters, and networks.

Download320.82 Kb

Download321.38 Kb

Download320.79 Kb

Get involved

UKGBC will work with industry to test how the identified enablers can be applied in real-world contexts, develop practical pathways to move solutions from pilots to mainstream adoption, support collaboration across the value chain, share insights and learning to accelerate progress across the sector. UKGBC is working in collaboration with Innovate UK and the University of the Built Environment on the next phase of this work, and is seeking additional partners to support delivery.

Solutions & Innovation

The built environment is both a major contributor to the climate and ecological crises, and a key part of the solution. At UKGBC we recognise that the scale and urgency of these challenges cannot be address with business as usual, but radical transformation. This requires innovation in technology, business models and ways of operating, and ensuring these innovative solutions scale at the pace required.

Learn more