Real estate and software experts Ben Ross and Dan Barton from BIP.Verco are heading to UKREiiF 2026, and they’re expecting the most valuable conversations to be the honest ones: what’s working, what’s hard, and what’s slowing delivery down.

Below, they share what they’re listening for at the event, what real estate teams should be discussing right now about carbon reduction, and why decarbonisation software is becoming central to moving from ambition to measurable delivery.

Meet the experts: Ben Ross & Dan Barton

Ben Ross — Head of Sector, Construction & Real Estate, BIP.Verco   Ben has spent the last 20 years providing strategic advice and operational change through consultancy, commercial and operational roles across the public, private and third sectors. Ben values large, multi-day events because they create space for conversation around what’s proving difficult, not just what’s working. For him, that helps the sector collectively gain awareness of challenges to overcome.

Dan Barton — Commercial Manager (Software), BIP.Verco Dan’s work focuses on BIP.Verco’s decarbonisation platform, MyVerco. This will be Dan’s first time at UKREiiF. He’s keen to hear where organisations are thriving and where they’re getting stuck, so BIP.Verco can better address barriers and adapt their services. He’s also looking to share what the team is seeing across portfolios, especially how technology can help teams move faster, make better decisions, and manage carbon reduction complexity.

Hot topics for this year: What should the real estate sector be discussing right now in terms of carbon reduction?

The movement from planning to pragmatic implementation

Research BIP.Verco conducted for their annual real estate report showed that over the last couple of years, there has been a rapid shift from planning to insight and, increasingly, towards delivery.

The next phase of this will be pragmatic implementation. Leading organisations are no longer asking whether they should decarbonise, but rather what the practical opportunities and challenges are on an asset-by-asset basis. So, the key discussions will be: 

  • What do transition plans look like across multiple assets and complex portfolios? 
  • What energy and carbon plans are in place, how far will they take us, and will they achieve our ambitions?
  • How do we decarbonise in a way that stands up to increasing scrutiny from occupiers, investors and other key stakeholders? 

Technology as a method of streamlining delivery (not just reporting)

Technology should be high on the list of timely discussions. Decarbonisation software can bring data, assumptions and decisions together in one place, helping teams prioritise actions based on evidence rather than instinct, understand trade-offs, and move from ambition into consistent, repeatable, measurable delivery.

How are real estate organisations approaching sustainability conversations internally?   

Internal sustainability discussions are becoming far more cross-functional. Sustainability can’t sit on its own anymore; it is linked to asset value, risk, operations and investment planning. The most successful organisations are starting to bring these perspectives together rather than treating sustainability as a separate reporting exercise.

What are the main challenges for those looking to reduce energy and carbon emissions?

  1. Time

Organisations need to tackle relatively new requirements at scale and pace, which demands new, systematic approaches and time to embed them into coordinated action. The challenge isn’t only technical, it’s organisational. Sustainability data sits in silos, decisions span multiple teams, and without a shared view of performance and priorities, progress slows.

  • Spreadsheet strain

Spreadsheets are a familiar starting point, but as datasets grow and questions get more complex, spreadsheets can’t keep up. Version control, hidden assumptions, and manual updates introduce risk. A major frustration is the manual effort required to clean data, reconcile spreadsheets, and answer one-off stakeholder questions. Doing all this leaves less time for value-creating work like fixing issues, delivering projects, and planning ahead.

  • Lack of data confidence

Businesses rarely lack sustainability data, but it often comes from multiple systems, varies in quality, and isn’t always clearly owned. Given the nature of real estate data, being comfortable with some ambiguity is essential at a strategic/portfolio level, but the key is ensuring the figures still point to what needs to be done, and when.

When teams aren’t confident in their data, they become cautious about using it to support major decisions. As a result, approvals are slower. Boards want confidence that plans will deliver; if numbers change from report to report or assumptions aren’t clear, credibility suffers. Consistent, traceable data helps decisions get approved faster.

  • Making financially compelling business cases

Progress often stalls at the decision stage. Teams might be able to see what can be done but struggle to compare options, articulate benefits, understand knock-on impacts, or justify investment. Without clarity on costs, energy and carbon performance, tenant and commercial benefits, and quantified risk mitigation, plans remain static.

The organisations making real progress can move between portfolio views and individual asset views, understanding how local decisions contribute to wider goals without losing sight of constraints on the ground.

How can technology help with decarbonisation reporting and decision making?

Technology is helping sustainability move from a reporting function to a strategic decision-making capability. Here’s how:

Automated systems take pressure off busy teams

AI and advanced analytics can gather, qualify and process far more data, far more quickly than manual approaches. Specialist decarbonisation software can pull sustainability data from multiple systems and rebuild models whenever new questions arise, so teams can work from a consistent set of assumptions and live information.

Scenario forecasting supports wiser, lower-risk decisions

Scenario forecasting allows teams to explore and compare impacts before decisions are made, risk and uncertainty. In practice, this means less time compiling information and more time comparing options. BIP.Verco is seeing more teams use technology to test scenarios, anticipate risk, and integrate insights into investment decisions, rather than sidelining risks or recording outcomes after the fact.

Platforms evolve as expectations evolve

Decarbonisation plans need to be active, not static. Assets change, projects evolve, and external factors like grid decarbonisation, commercial markets and regulation can move quickly. The keys to keeping carbon reduction plans relevant are: 

  • being able to continuously update assumptions; and
  • being able to forecast how today’s decisions will affect the organisation’s long‑term outcomes without restarting the process each year.

BIP.Verco’s decarbonisation software MyVerco, for example, enables different disciplines (sustainability, estates, finance and asset management) to work from the same view of a portfolio. This streamlines reporting, reduces duplication, and makes it much easier to respond quickly to questions from stakeholders. It shifts the focus from what happened to what to do next, and supports timely and confident decisions, backing them up with real-time data.  

What are the risks for real estate companies who hesitate to invest in carbon reduction software?   

The biggest risk is loss of momentum. Without the right tools, even well-resourced teams can become bogged down in manual work, inconsistent data, and slow approvals. Over time, that can lead to missed opportunities, delayed investment decisions, and a growing gap between ambition and action.

There’s also a significant governance risk. As expectations from regulators, investors and lenders evolve, organisations need to be able to evidence how decisions were made. Relying on fragmented processes makes that increasingly difficult.

In a growing market, how do real estate companies choose which decarbonisation software to use?   

The most important question is whether the software supports real world decision making, not just reporting. Organisations should look for tools that are flexible enough to adapt to the complexity of real portfolios but structured enough to provide consistency and confidence.

That’s why Ben and Dan are excited to demonstrate MyVerco at UKREiiF. MyVerco was built by BIP.Verco’s team of specialists, based on in-depth knowledge of how real estate operators and investors make decisions. It brings together performance data, project timing, cost, and carbon impact in a way that supports prioritisation and scenario testing, rather than forcing teams into generic workflows. You can find out more about it here, or come and chat with Ben and Dan in person at UKREiiF.

Where to find BIP.Verco at UKREiiF 2026

BIP.Verco is exhibiting at stand M3 in the RAH – Hall of Steel. Ben and Dan will be there for the whole event, running informal demos of MyVerco and chatting through real-world challenges.

Anyone keen to have a more in-depth discussion can also book time with them in advance. We recommend setting up a meeting early, as diaries tend to fill up quickly during the event. You can book a meeting here.

Learn more on the topic: Join BIP.Verco’s upcoming webinar

Funding, executing, and de-risking real estate decarbonisation with digital/AI and green finance

Date: Tuesday 2nd June
Time: 14:00 BST

For large property operators and investors, real estate decarbonisation has become a strategic question of funding, execution, and risk management. This webinar will explore how digital and AI‑enabled insight can support more disciplined, portfolio-wide decarbonisation planning, helping organisations move from ambition to decision-ready action.

We will discuss how to:

  • link bottom‑up asset analysis with portfolio‑level strategy;
  • support more confident capital planning; and
  • develop robust business cases that reflect feasibility, cost, and the realities of delivering change at scale over time.

Register now