Your Year in ESG | May 1, 2025
The 2025 ESG & Compliance Planner for UK Real Estate
ESG and compliance deadlines aren’t slowing down and neither is the pressure to decarbonise. To help ESG leads, asset managers and sustainability teams stay ahead, we’ve created a simple quarterly planner that breaks down key milestones into manageable steps aligned with UK regulations. From MEES risks to GRESB submissions, tenant consent and NZCBS prep, it includes practical tips from our technical team who support portfolios with compliance, retrofit planning and reporting every day.
Q1: Assess and Strategize
Start the year with a clear view of where you stand. This is the time to conduct a portfolio-wide EPC health check to flag MEES 2027 risks early, review 2024 energy and carbon data for SFDR, CSRD and GRESB alignment, prioritise retrofit opportunities, and set baseline emissions for each building in preparation for the UK NZCBS.
Our team’s advice:
“The quality of your energy data shapes everything that follows. A strong Q1 foundation built on accurate, accessible data makes it easier to align stakeholders, identify risks early and get ahead of compliance so you’re not left playing catch-up later in the year.”
Q2: Regulatory Preparation & Data Capture
With reporting season around the corner, Q2 is about getting organised. Use this window to prepare for GRESB submissions, start shaping your SFDR and CSRD reporting frameworks, identify missing data like floor area or occupancy, and model EPC B compliance pathways across your assets.
Our team’s advice:
“Across our portfolio clients, the biggest blocker to GRESB scoring isn’t energy performance it’s the consent process, accessing energy meter data and filling in the blanks. Early consent and seamless data flow can dramatically boost scores.”
Q3: Implementation & Performance Optimisation
With insights in hand, it’s time to act. This is when most portfolios submit to GRESB, deploy efficiency upgrades to improve EPC ratings, model decarbonisation scenarios to meet 2030 goals, and engage operational teams to drive behaviour change.
Our team’s advice:
“In 2024, we’ve seen a shift: portfolios with integrated operations and ESG teams are moving faster on upgrade deployment and hitting ROI targets sooner.”
Q4: Reporting & Strategic Review
Close out the year with smart reporting and strategy refinement. Submit SFDR and CSRD aligned ESG reports, review GRESB results, MEES progress and net-zero performance, benchmark your portfolio, and shape next year’s strategy with confidence.
Our team’s advice:
“Don’t wait for scores to define success. Data-backed self-review in Q4 helps you identify wins and build investor confidence before your next reporting cycle.”
