Manchester’s office market is entering a period where sustainability credentials are becoming increasingly important in occupier decision-making. As businesses commit to fixed dates for achieving net zero carbon, the environmental performance of their workplace is being considered alongside location, specification and operational requirements.
For many organisations, particularly those with existing North West operations, the office is now part of a wider ESG strategy. The ability of a building to support corporate carbon targets, reporting requirements and stakeholder expectations is becoming a key factor when businesses assess whether to renew, relocate or expand.
Rylands reflects a wider shift in the market towards sustainable office space Manchester occupiers can demonstrate as part of their own long-term commitments.
The changing role of ESG in commercial real estate
The role of ESG in commercial real estate has evolved significantly. What was once considered a secondary consideration is now influencing conversations from the earliest stages of an occupier search.
Businesses are looking beyond the traditional measures of office quality and asking more detailed questions about building performance, including:
- How efficiently does the building operate?
- What measures have been taken to reduce embodied and operational carbon?
- Can the building support our own net zero commitments?
- Does the available data help us meet reporting obligations to investors, employees and clients?
As deadlines for achieving net zero carbon get closer, many businesses are reassessing their existing property portfolios and asking whether their current office space still stacks up.
Dr. Chiara Künzle, Sustainability Officer at AM ALPHA, said: “At AM ALPHA, we believe that sustainability and long-term value creation go hand in hand. Rylands demonstrates how the careful refurbishment of an existing building can preserve valuable resources and reduce embodied carbon, while creating a workplace that helps occupiers meet their own ESG and net-zero commitments. For future tenants, this means leasing a space that supports both business success and a more sustainable future.”
From city ambition to building performance
Manchester has set ambitious sustainability goals, including the city region’s ambition to become net zero carbon by 2038. Delivering against these targets requires individual buildings that can hold their own environmental performance to the same standard.
Rylands’ redevelopment has been shaped around this expectation. The transformation of the former Debenhams building on Market Street combines the retention and reuse of historic fabric with a modern approach to building performance, creating a workspace built for how occupiers assess offices today.
This approach reflects a broader movement within the sector, recognising that sustainable development isn’t only about new construction, but also about how existing buildings can be adapted, improved and brought back into productive use.
For businesses seeking sustainable office space in Manchester, Rylands offers a building that pairs environmental performance with a distinctive city centre location.
Why recognised standards matter
As ESG considerations become more prominent, independently verified standards give occupiers a clearer basis for comparison.
Certifications such as BREEAM provide a recognised benchmark for assessing building performance, and give businesses evidence that can support their own sustainability reporting. Importantly, BREEAM’s scope extends well beyond carbon and energy performance, also assessing health, wellbeing and wider social value. For occupiers, that means the rating speaks as much to workplace experience and occupant comfort as it does to environmental impact, both of which are increasingly central to attracting and retaining talent.
Rylands is targeting a BREEAM Excellent rating alongside NABERS 5-star performance in operation, placing the scheme among the leading BREEAM offices Manchester has to offer, and providing occupiers with a recognised benchmark for environmental performance.
Supporting the transition towards net zero carbon
Where BREEAM and NABERS certify how the building performs and feels to occupy, Rylands’ Net Zero Carbon strategy is designed to prove the building’s decarbonisation pathway with the same rigour. As part of that strategy, Rylands is designed to meet the UK Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework, with a Net Zero Carbon Declaration planned for issue once the building is complete – giving occupiers verified, framework-aligned evidence.
This is a key focus of Rylands’ leasing strategy supporting occupier requirements with a clear, evidenced route to net zero carbon.
As more businesses establish carbon reduction targets, the ability to operate from a net zero office Manchester businesses can commit to for the long term is becoming a deciding factor. Rylands has been designed with that in mind, bringing together heritage, modern building performance and sustainability credentials within a Grade A workplace.
For occupiers, the right building can provide greater confidence that their workplace will continue to support evolving sustainability commitments over the long term.
Sustainability and Manchester’s inward investment landscape
The growing weight of ESG credentials also has implications for Manchester’s inward investment ambitions.
The city continues to compete for businesses looking to establish or expand regional operations, and sustainability performance is becoming a key part of that decision-making process.
Connectivity, talent access and workplace experience still matter, but a scheme that can back up its carbon claims with third-party evidence gives the city a stronger hand, and gives long-term occupiers the confidence to commit.
Rylands is positioned to be part of that story. Bringing together Grade A workspace, heritage character and a future-focused approach to building performance, the scheme has been designed to support the next generation of occupiers in Manchester.
To find out more about workspace availability at Rylands, contact the leasing team.