Article last updated 22 July 2025.
The buildings we live and work in today are major contributors to global carbon emissions. But even if all new buildings had zero emissions, the vast majority of the buildings that exist today will still be around 30 years from now. Meeting targets for reducing global emissions will mean ‘retrofitting’ them to higher energy efficiency standards.
But this is prohibitively expensive. A mass industrialisation of the process is needed to make it affordable for the masses. Successful examples of this exist today, and we believe both conventional and industrialised retrofitting have good potential for growth in the decades ahead.
We take a look at what this means for long-term investors in Back to the future, part of our Building Conversations video series.
You can also download our building a more sustainable future report to further explore the vital role the construction industry plays in fighting climate change.