TFT’s experienced sustainability and wellbeing consultants advise our clients on their sustainability strategy and coordination of their approach. Our technical capabilities across sustainability and wellbeing themes enable us to work collaboratively with building or design teams to drive and monitor best practice throughout design, construction and operation.

A sustainability strategy and coordination approach to suit you

We work with our clients to understand the ambition and maturity of their sustainability strategy. Using that information, we develop tailored sustainability strategies or work within their existing frameworks to ensure best value on each project.

As an independent consultancy, we are free to draw on expertise across our other specialist teams, without compromising the quality of our advice. Our sustainability specialists work side by side with colleagues from all TFT service lines, providing a wider perspective on your challenges.

Our sustainability coordination support covers individual development projects and masterplan projects. In all cases, we embed sustainable principles early on and ensure continual improvement as developments progress.

We are also appointed as the retained sustainability coordinators of whole portfolios, working with a range of development project teams, contractors and facilities management teams to implement and monitor sustainability performance.

Our technical expertise includes:

• Climate change and resilience
• Energy and carbon
• Building optimisation
• Circularity
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and materials procurement
• Green infrastructure
• Sustainable transport
• Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)
• Wellbeing
• Post-occupancy evaluation

Sustainable building certifications

We regularly support clients in navigating the landscape of sustainable building certifications. While certification can be a valuable tool to validate performance and communicate achievements, our approach is always to start with a robust, outcome-driven sustainability strategy aligned to your project and business objectives. From there, we can help you select and pursue certifications that add genuine value.

Sustainability certification FAQs

What are the main sustainable building certifications, and how do they differ?
There are several widely recognised certification schemes, each with different geographies, methodologies and priorities. In the UK and Europe, BREEAM is commonly used and focuses on a broad range of environmental categories. LEED is often applied to international portfolios, particularly in North America, with a strong emphasis on energy and environmental performance. WELL focuses specifically on occupant health and wellbeing. Other frameworks, such as NABERS UK, provide in-use performance ratings, particularly for energy efficiency. The choice depends on project type, location, and client priorities.

Do we need a certification for every project?
Not necessarily. Certification can provide structure, benchmarking and external validation, but it is not always the most effective or proportionate route to create a sustainable development, depending on your goals. In some cases, aligning with best practice principles without formal certification may deliver better value while still achieving strong sustainability outcomes.

Should certification drive the sustainability strategy?
Our approach is the opposite. We believe the sustainability strategy should be driven by your ambitions, risk profile, and commercial objectives. Certification is then used selectively to support those goals, rather than shaping the strategy itself or becoming an end in its own right.

How do you decide which certification is most appropriate?
We assess factors including asset type, location, investor requirements, occupier expectations, and operational goals. We also consider the relative cost, complexity and benefit of each scheme. This ensures that any certification pursued is meaningful, achievable and aligned with the overall development strategy.

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Our team is always on hand to discuss your project or your challenges, and help you find the best way to create more sustainable, valuable buildings.