Launched last week at their new, annual property awards, and coinciding with  the final day of COP26, a membership scheme by customer review site allAgents.co.uk is aiming to turn the residential property market into a carbon neutral industry.

The Sustainable Agent Scheme, a members owned organisation, is for estate agents, letting agents & property management companies to voluntarily sign up and pledge to become a zero-carbon
business and manager of carbon efficient or neutral residential properties.

Vincent Friel , director at allAgents said:

“Signing up [to the scheme] is just the beginning. With an estimated one-fifth of carbon dioxide emissions accounted for by residential homes, together we have a responsibility for helping to drive down the overall carbon footprint of properties under our management”.

“As an industry collective, we have the ability to negotiate deals in bulk, tap into grants and other resources both locally and nationally in order to achieve our objectives. There will be costs and time involved, however there will also be new income streams and new business opportunities.”

“I am also confident that once established, industry bodies, suppliers and digital partners like our property portals will all support this initiative, with some even providing substantial subsidies in the
form of discounts to service fees or equivalent financial support in order to help members achieve their net carbon goals.”

“We are not asking for agents to go out tomorrow and start buying electric cars, offsetting emissions will play a pivotal role in this climate journey, however recognising the need to change and expressing an interest at a senior level will be the beginning.”

The scheme is set to launch in the first quarter of 2022.