Business and Sustainability MSc student presents sustainability insights to real estate leaders

From academia to industry: Jessie Shaw's research bridges the gap between sustainability and business goals

Business and Sustainability MSc student Jessie Shaw's Capstone project, ‘Sustainable Efficacies: Analysing the Commercial Impact of Green Certifications on Grade A Office Spaces in the UK’, has been turned into an industry report. Jessie's research tackles critical industry questions, including the value of sustainability beyond green credentials, the enablers and barriers to adopting sustainable practices, and the implications for stakeholders across the property value chain. This work not only contributes to academic discourse but also provides actionable recommendations for accelerating the sector’s transition to a more sustainable future in the short, medium, and long-term.

Jessie's research findings are as follows:

• The research underscores the critical role of sustainability in reshaping business practices within the real estate sector, identifying fundamental challenges that resonate across industries making a sustainability transition. Key barriers include the high costs of interaction with sustainability, misalignment and uncertainty between existing sustainability standards and regulations, the slow pace of commitments, and a lack of data-sharing and knowledge gaps. 
• These factors create friction for industry participants seeking to embed sustainability into their core strategies. The project calls for a broader commitment to collaboration, encouraging stakeholders across the value chain—investors, landlords, tenants, and policymakers—to work together to harmonise standards, accelerate adoption, and unlock the commercial and environmental benefits of sustainable practices. 
• The findings provide actionable insights that extend beyond theoretical frameworks. For businesses, they offer a roadmap for navigating the complexities of sustainability while delivering value across people, profit, and planet. By addressing barriers such as cost perceptions, regulatory uncertainty, and fragmented metrics, the research equips the sector with tools to foster genuine, scalable change. 
• Potential influence on industry standards or future research.  
• Jessie’s project contributes to ongoing conversations about standardisation and accountability; the real estate industry’s diverse stakeholders suggest the need for consistent metrics and benchmarks to measure success effectively. Furthermore, the research highlights the need to harmonise existing standards like BREEAM, WELL, and NABERS while exploring emerging certification systems. This alignment could drive greater transparency and trust, encouraging wider adoption of sustainable practices. 
• An avenue for exploration could be the role of intergenerational collaboration in driving authentic, bottom-up change within built environment organisations. Understanding how diverse perspectives contribute to embedding sustainability into company culture could help bridge the gap between individual initiatives and broader industry-wide transformation. Future research can provide a clearer pathway for operationalising real estate sustainability recommendations and creating a more cohesive transition across the sector—an area Jessie intends to further explore as she begins her career in the industry. 
• Additionally, going further in investigating how financial incentives or policy reforms  specifically might enhance engagement could provide further clarity on accelerating the industry’s transition to sustainability. Such initiatives could help bridge the gap between short-term financial pressures and the long-term development of future-ready business models, ensuring that sustainability is embedded not as an add-on but as a core business strategy. 

Collaborating for change: Aligning standards and stakeholders in real estate sustainability 

Carter Jonas, a leading UK property consultancy, played a pivotal role in supporting this project. Their extensive industry expertise and resources provided invaluable insights into current market practices and challenges. By granting access to real-world data and facilitating connections with key stakeholders, Carter Jonas ensured that the research was firmly grounded in practical realities, that the findings reached key stakeholders, and is now fostering meaningful conversations about sustainability in the commercial office market. By embedding the research within industry contexts and encouraging dialogue across diverse perspectives, the project contributed to a broader understanding of sustainability’s role and its implications for the sector. 

On 14 November 2024, Jessie presented findings from her Capstone Project at an event which provided a platform to discuss sustainability within the commercial office market, bringing together diverse perspectives from key industry stakeholders. Jessie explored the challenges of integrating sustainability into the sector, particularly the tension between short-term financial priorities and long-term sustainability goals. By addressing both financial and non-financial benefits, Jessie highlighted how sustainable practices can create value for people, profit, and the planet. 

An underlying theme of Jessie's presentation was the industry's need to move beyond a "business-as-usual" mindset, which often fosters resistance to change. Jessie emphasised the importance of raising awareness about the tangible benefits of sustainability and aligning these with broader commercial objectives to overcome existing barriers.

The event also featured a dynamic panel discussion, moderated by Tom Roundel Greene, a Partner and Head of Sustainability at Carter Jonas. Panellists included Jessie Shaw, Joseph Robertson (Deputy Branch Manager at Handelsbanken - West End), Christian Walters (Head of Investment at Brydell Partners), Daniel Francis (Head of Research at Carter Jonas). All shared critical insights from their respective areas of expertise. The audience, comprising Carter Jonas clients, contacts, and market participants—such as landlords, investors, business tenants, and other key stakeholders—engaged in thoughtful discussions, reflecting the diverse interests and challenges within the sector. 

Jessie Shaw’s academic journey in shaping the built environment

Jessie's academic journey has been shaped by a profound curiosity for the built environment’s role in driving sustainable transformation. Beginning with an A-Level in Geography, Jessie’s interest in planning and spatial dynamics evolved into a focus on the contentious balancing act of social, economic, and environmental development. Recognising the built environment’s immense potential to influence this balance, Jessie pursued a BSc in Urban Planning and Real Estate at The Bartlett School of Planning. During this time, she explored the impact of planning and development frameworks on urban sustainability and the ways in which real estate can align profit with purpose. 

This passion for bridging the complexities of the built environment and sustainability inspired Jessie to undertake an MSc in Business and Sustainability at The Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources. Here, Jessie honed her expertise in navigating the interplay between commercial imperatives and sustainable practices. She delved into strategies for aligning the built environment’s role as a host for societal activities with the urgent need to transition these activities towards improved sustainability. 

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