Global demand for sustainable buildings is stalling amid a slowdown in sustainability progress across the built environment, a new report from RICS has revealed.

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The institution’s 2025 Sustainability Report also warns of a concerning lack of progress in carbon measurement across construction projects.

The report, based on more than 3,500 real estate and construction professionals across 36 countries, warns that momentum behind sustainable development is at risk of stalling without strong policy intervention and an acceleration in skills development.

RICS’s Sustainable Building Index (SBI) is still firmly in positive territory, with a ‘net balance’ reading of +30, and +43 in the UK. However, according to RICS, these figures show that demand growth for green and sustainable real estate among occupiers and investors has softened in the past 12 months.

The global SBI figure stood at +55 in 2021, dropping to +44 in 2023 and then to +30 in 2025. The report points to muted growth in the UK over the past year. The Middle East and Africa (MEA) is the only region to see a pick-up in demand.

In construction, the report highlights a lack of progress in adopting sustainable practices. The number of construction professionals that reported not measuring embodied carbon rose to 46% in the survey, while just 16% said carbon measurement meaningfully informed material choices in project design.

One of the key drivers behind this loss of momentum is a drop in occupier and investor interest across the Americas in response to a change in focus in US policy. The Americas has the lowest SBI at +11.

But RICS warned the sector would fail to achieve UK and global decarbonisation targets without mandatory whole-life-carbon assessment and reporting.

Respondents reported that green buildings are still judged to be attractive investments when certified and can evidence high resilience to the effects of climate change, but high initial costs, a lack of evidence of return on investment and a lack of client demand for sustainable buildings are all barriers to investment.

The survey also highlights a critical need for capacity building, skills development and climate literacy, RICS said.

More than 70% of respondents said they had some knowledge of sustainable construction, but familiarity with circular economy practices and whole-life carbon remained low.

As part of the report, the RICS has made a series of policy recommendations, led by the call to introduce mandatory whole-life-carbon reporting for all construction projects.

It also urged governments to set national emissions limits, expand incentives and financing for green retrofits and low-carbon materials and strengthen biodiversity legislation and reporting requirements.

On skills, it called for investment into sustainability training to be prioritised; it also said global standards and definitions around low-carbon and resilient buildings needed to be harmonised.

Nicholas Maclean, acting RICS president, said: “Transformation across the built environment is necessary if we are to meet the challenge of climate change. This important RICS research shows progress, but also clear signs of fatigue and uncertainty.

“In our 2025 report, the MEA region has emerged as a strong performer, indicating demand growth outpacing all other regions studied. These developments offer valuable insights for global efforts in sustainability practices and provide an important example for the rest of the world.

“Governments, industry and professional bodies must work together urgently to unlock investment, strengthen policy and scale up skills to deliver a truly sustainable future.”