Making the case for green and affordable housing investment in Europe

The built environment accounts for 36% of CO2 emissions in Europe. Many EU countries are implementing projects to decarbonise the built environment, but these do not impact everyone equally. 

While some initiatives are helping those most in need, others are exacerbating inequality, resulting in pushback from communities who feel left behind. This is felt especially in relation to people’s homes and their right to housing. 

To avoid this, businesses and investors in the housing sector need to align their environmental and social impacts, simultaneously tackling the housing and climate crises. 

Financial actors play a critical role. Investors have the collective capacity and leverage to influence the housing sector and make housing more affordable and green. But while many real estate investors have clear plans for emission reductions, they face difficulties aligning their green housing products with their social responsibilities.

This briefing for investors highlights initiatives that are making green homes more affordable. Through case studies and recommendations, this briefing aims to empower housing investors throughout Europe to align the social and environmental impact of their investments.

Decisions about what gets built, where and how have major implications for people’s lives now and for many years to come. 

The Building for Today and the Future project aims to strengthen pathways to just climate action in the built environment with a focus on measures to reduce emissions from buildings and construction, and to strengthen resilience in ways that ensure: the right to adequate housing; construction workers’ rights; non-discrimination and spatial justice; and meaningful participation.