Many offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh are listed

Offices in Scotland’s biggest big cities will struggle to meet net zero targets unless there is significant action to upgrade them, according to new analysis.

A report, Sustainability and Value in the Regions, concluded that just 5% of offices in Edinburgh and 11% in Glasgow have a BREEAM rating – a key sustainability assessment – of Good to Outstanding. 

The report, by property agency JLL, also found that as yet there are no completed office developments in Edinburgh or Glasgow that have achieved the UK Green Building Council’s embodied and operational net zero carbon standard. 

The office footprint of businesses with science-based sustainability targets in Edinburgh and Glasgow has more than doubled in the past three years, to 341,530 sq ft in Edinburgh and 420,413 sq ft in Glasgow.

However, with Edinburgh and Glasgow councils both committed to net zero status by 2030, the research points to a need for significant refurbishment and retrofitting.