Duncan Morris, Head of Sustainability at Area, joined experts from Herrington Carmichael and Frasers Property for a seminar on The Future of Sustainable Real Estate – an event that looked at how the industry is moving from ambition to action. Hosted at Herrington Carmichael’s Farnborough office – a space designed by Area – the session brought together legal, property, and construction perspectives on what sustainability means for the built environment today.
Green leases and sustainable placemaking
Rachel Duncan and Hayley Moore from Herrington Carmichael opened with a detailed look at green leases – how clauses around data sharing, EPC performance, waste management, and energy efficiency can align landlord and tenant goals around ESG and compliance with (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards) MEES.
They were followed by George Marshall, Sustainability Manager at Frasers Property, who explored placemaking and spacemaking – showing how thoughtful design and community engagement can drive sustainability and long-term asset value. His case studies from Frasers’ portfolio, including Farnborough Business Park, demonstrated how wellbeing, biodiversity, and operational carbon reduction can work together.
Carbon smart contracting – Duncan Morris, Area
Closing the session, Area’s Head of Sustainability, Duncan Morris, explored the idea of Carbon Smart Contracting – how the design and build process itself can become a force for climate progress.
Duncan discussed how embodied carbon is often overlooked compared with operational emissions, despite fitout projects being responsible for up to 70% of total emissions across a building’s lifecycle. He called for a shift in focus – from simply meeting design intent to delivering measurable, performance-based outcomes.
“Construction isn’t a green industry yet,” Duncan said. “But we can change that by embedding carbon accountability into every project – from materials and procurement to logistics and lifecycle thinking.”
He outlined practical steps Area is already taking:
- Setting carbon KPIs on every project, tracked against measurable reduction targets.
- Collaborating early with suppliers to develop low-carbon solutions and improve transparency.
- Specifying materials with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to verify carbon data.
- Exploring digital tools such as carbon modelling and AI-powered design optimisation to assess options before build.
- Integrating circular economy principles through reuse, modularity, and adaptability.
Duncan also reiterated Area’s ongoing alignment with B Corp principles and Science-Based Targets, ensuring that every project supports our wider carbon commitments.
Duncan highlighted the multi-award-winning Lenovo Farnborough project by Area, where our team implemented a full furniture reuse strategy, low-carbon material selection, and verified offsetting to deliver a carbon-neutral fitout. Through this approach, unwanted furniture was donated via Waste to Wonder to support schools in Cameroon – an example of how sustainability and social value can go hand in hand.
Collaboration is key
Throughout the seminar, one message stood out: sustainability in real estate can’t be achieved in isolation. From landlords and lawyers to designers and contractors, everyone in the value chain needs to share responsibility for reducing emissions.
As Duncan concluded, “Net zero can’t be a bolt-on or a badge. It needs to be the standard way of building.”
Looking ahead
With regulation tightening and client expectations rising, the industry is moving fast. Green leases will help define shared responsibility between landlords and tenants. Smart contracting can ensure that sustainability isn’t just a design ambition but a delivered outcome.
At Area, sustainability continues to be built into every project from day one – because every design, every fitout, and every decision is an opportunity to make real climate progress.
If you’d like to learn how we’re turning projects into climate progress, or to explore our Project Positive initiative, please get in touch with our team.
