The Built Environment Just Transitions Accelerator - UK

A multi-stakeholder initiative placing workers' rights and housing rights at the heart of decarbonisation in the UK.

Summary

The Built Environment Just Transitions Accelerator (BEJTA) is a multi-stakeholder initiative to centre workers' rights and housing rights in the decarbonisation of Denmark’s, Spain’s, and the UK’s built environments.
Just transitions refer to ensuring that the benefits of climate initiatives – like retrofits, improving energy efficiency for heating and cooling, or better construction jobs – are spread equitably, and the costs are not borne by traditionally excluded or marginalised groups.
This webpage outlines the main activities and resources of the UK Accelerator.

The built environment accounts for 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions, and must reduce these by 76% from 2018 levels by 2035. With the Government targeting the construction of 1.5 million new homes by 2030, only a just transition can ensure we meet both housing and decarbonisation goals.
Almost two-thirds of workers - nearly 4.5 million people - are struggling to pay rent. The average salary needed to buy a house is £53,600; higher than the average salary of £37,856, and significantly more than the £23,000-£35,000 average salary of the builders constructing the houses.
To achieve critical housing equity for communities and construction workers – in order to rapidly build new homes and refurbish existing housing stock – we must align a rights-based approach with decarbonisation goals to meet essential net zero targets.
A just transition is a solutions-based approach to the challenge through the mitigation of carbon impacts while meeting workers’ rights to fair pay, voice and wellbeing, and to ensure communities housing rights to security of tenure, affordable and habitable homes.

The UK Built Environment Just Transitions Accelerator brings together civil society organisations, policymakers and front-running businesses to help embed the right to housing and labour rights into decarbonisation initiatives, reducing risk and broadening support by ensuring no one is left behind.
The Accelerator aims to achieve impact through three channels: advancing voluntary practice by front-running businesses, collective advocacy to strengthen regulation and level the playing field, and shaping narratives for systemic change

Discuss shared experiences, challenges and ideas with like-minded experts across sectors.
Encourage leading businesses to voluntarily adopt policies and practices that align with human rights principles, reducing risk and increasing pre-competitive advantage.

Collectively advocate for governments to strengthen housing and labour rights in built environment policies and regulations
Raise the floor for mainstream business change through compliance, levelling the playing field.

Demonstrate how a human rights approach can support leading real estate and construction firms in managing risk, reinforcing market leadership and building resilient business models.
Collate and promote stories of businesses that are setting themselves apart in driving the just transition, highlighting the real-life impacts on communities’ wellbeing and prosperity, and inspiring wider sector transformation.

15th May 2025, Accelerator Launch Event: 40 leading stakeholders across business (front-running industry and investors), civil society organisations, and policymakers identified key risks and opportunities.

Read the key takeaways:

BEJTA UK - Takeaways