For years, green certifications have stood in as proof of sustainability—but industry confidence in that model is clearly slipping. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ 2025 Sustainability Report shows global demand for sustainable buildings has dropped from 41% to 30% in just one year.
The reason isn’t resistance to sustainability itself. Instead, frustration is growing over high upfront costs, unpredictable returns, and inconsistent follow-through. Crucially, 47% of construction professionals now admit they don’t track carbon emissions on their projects—a higher percentage than last year. That’s raising serious questions about how much certified buildings are actually delivering, both environmentally and financially.
According to energy optimisation firm Exergio, the issue isn’t just a lack of will—it’s a lack of structure. They point to a pattern of missed opportunities caused by three overlapping failures: unclear ROI, softening market demand, and limited accountability once buildings are handed over.
Why Investors Are Pushing for Performance Over Promises
The core of the problem lies in return on investment. Between one-third and nearly half of investors and developers say uncertain financial benefits are the main reason they’re holding back on sustainability commitments. Certifications alone don’t cut it—particularly when buildings fail to meet energy performance expectations post-occupancy.
The result? A shift in perception: sustainability becomes a cost line item, not a value generator. Exergio argues that AI-based energy optimization is one way to close this credibility gap. In some commercial buildings, fine-tuning systems in real-time has slashed energy use by up to 30%, yielding savings that exceed $1 million annually.
That’s the kind of measurable outcome investors want. It’s less about marketing a net-zero ambition and more about proving ongoing operational efficiency with real data.
At the same time, the RICS report notes a growing split in market priorities. Occupiers focus on what they can feel—air quality, temperature control, and actual energy savings. Investors, on the other hand, still rely on third-party labels and risk metrics, even when those indicators don’t reflect how a building really performs.
This disconnect has led to a rise in ‘greenwashed’ assets: buildings that meet certification thresholds at handover, but lose sustainability value in day-to-day use. Skills gaps only worsen the issue. Most professionals still feel unprepared to conduct full life-cycle carbon assessments, and many say sustainability scores have little real influence on their design process.
Exergio sees tech as a bridge. With automated optimisation tools, building systems can be monitored and adjusted continuously, helping projects stay aligned with both investor expectations and occupier needs—long after the ribbon is cut.
If sustainability is to deliver real results, the industry needs to move beyond static certifications and start treating performance as a living metric.
Environmentenergyleader