With increasing climate-related threats to service delivery, there’s a growing urgency for public sector organisations to implement climate-adaptive measures within their estates. Stakeholders ought to understand the severity of these risks alongside the multifaceted benefits that climate-adaptation can provide.

In 2022, England faced its hottest recorded temperatures. Nearly 3,000 people died from heat-related incidents that year, while various public sector services were severely impacted, including urgent medical treatment. Heat-related mortality is on the rise at a devastating human and financial cost; heat-related deaths will likely cost England £14.7 billion (currently £6.8 billion) annually by the 2050s. Flooding presents another national threat to the UK’s public and critical infrastructure, as 51 per cent of water, 77 per cent of rail, and 21 per cent of electricity infrastructure are now at risk of flooding. In 2015/16, winter floods realised this risk, exacting £1.6 billion in costs.

The increasing frequency of extreme weather events like flooding and heatwaves is symptomatic of worsening climate circumstances. Their interference with public sector service delivery will almost certainly worsen, so building resilience through adaptation will be fundamental. It’s time to consider which climate adaptive measures can be implemented in a cost-effective way to benefit public sector organisations, their workforces, and the local communities they exist to serve.

Estates adaptation in practice

There are many climate-adaptive measures that can be implemented on-site to support service delivery, organisational finances, and human health:

  • Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS): urban areas have a high concentration of non-permeable surfaces that exacerbate water runoff, increasing the likelihood and severity of flooding. Unmanaged, flood vulnerabilities can render sites inaccessible and may cause costly damage to critical assets. SuDS, such as rain gardens, green roofs, and permeable paving can mitigate flood risks by managing the flow and retention of stormwater runoff. In doing so, they reduce the volume of stormwater discharged into public sewers, lowering water bills. Since SuDS often leverage natural features, their installation can create more pleasant, functional, and biodiverse environments for people on-site.
  • Building fabric upgrades: Poorly insulated buildings are a financial and operational liability to public sector organisations with capital constraints. They are ineffective at regulating temperatures and consume more energy than their properly insulated counterparts, amounting to a considerable financial loss over time. From wall and roof insulation through to window and door replacements, fabric upgrades can generate immediate cost-savings, increase property value, and support more cost-efficient thermal regulation. They also reduce demand on heating and air conditioning systems, lowering their maintenance requirements and chances of system failure during peak demand. These benefits support the creation of more comfortable, cost-effective, and operationally resilient buildings.
  • Green infrastructure: Consisting primarily of rigid artificial surfaces, public sector buildings can be aesthetically unpleasant environments. Moreover, they often retain and generate too much heat (known as the urban heat island effect) with little capacity to absorb stormwater runoff, resulting in spaces that are vulnerable to climate-related risks like flooding and heatwaves. Green spaces and natural features like trees, living walls, and parks can transform built environments while supporting better mental and physical health outcomes. In fact, over £34 billion of direct health and wellbeing benefits to UK residents are attributed to parks and green spaces each year. The capacity to support wellbeing, boost resilience, and lower operational costs positions green infrastructure as a valuable asset for public-sector buildings which may host vulnerable people.

Whether they’re installed to support the financial, social, or environmental viability of public sector estates (or all the above), climate adaptative measures will be critical for the future of service delivery. Proactively embedding these adaptations ought to be a key target for public sector professionals this year.

Public Policy Projects will continue to support the sustainable optimisation of public sector services in 2025 through events including the Public Resilience Forum: Estates and Procurement, which will be free to attend for the public sector. For further information, please visit the event page here, and for partnership enquiries please contact Kieran Cornwell at kieran.cornwell@publicpolicyprojects.com.