When it comes to sustainability, the built environment is under growing scrutiny. Warehouses, often vast, resource-intensive structures, play a central role in our economy, yet they also carry a significant environmental footprint. Reducing that footprint isn’t just a matter of good corporate citizenship; it’s fast becoming a strategic imperative, driven by pressure from every corner of the stakeholder map, not only investors and customers, but also employees.

Today’s workforce increasingly favours employers who operate responsibly. Sustainability credentials are part of employer brand, shaping recruitment and retention in a competitive labour market. A company that cuts carbon and repurposes buildings is more likely to attract the next generation of logistics talent than one that clings to business-as-usual. The message is clear: sustainability isn’t an optional extra, it’s integral to how businesses are judged.

This is one reason why UKWA has championed the case for retrofitting renewable energy. Earlier this year we published our Solar Toolkit, a practical guide to help warehouse operators overcome the barriers to rooftop solar adoption. We know that warehouses have huge untapped potential as platforms for renewable generation yet only five percent of the UK’s warehouses have solar panels on the roof. Retrofitting can dramatically cut operational emissions and energy costs, while also signalling to stakeholders that a company is serious about sustainability.

But the environmental case for retrofit goes far beyond solar panels. As Ed Conway argues in his acclaimed book Material World, modern construction is deeply reliant on physical resources like steel and concrete, materials whose production is energy-intensive and carbon-heavy. Every new building represents an enormous embodied carbon cost. And construction isn’t the only culprit: the supply chains that support it, transporting materials, equipment, and finished goods, all have their own emissions impacts. As Conway reminds us, global logistics networks are fundamental to the built environment. They shape the demand for freight transport and the storage infrastructure that underpins it.

Warehousing has always existed in a symbiotic relationship with transport. In the 19th century, Britain’s early distribution hubs were clustered around canal basins and railway terminals. Think of the great goods depots of Manchester or London’s vast canal-side warehouses. These buildings illustrate a crucial systems-thinking lesson: storage and transport are interdependent. Together, they enable trade, but they also generate carbon. The most effective regulatory solutions for decarbonisation will consider both, promoting planning frameworks that integrate freight infrastructure, warehouse location, low-carbon transport options and even renewable power generation.

This systems perspective also underscores why retrofit is so vital. New-build projects, however energy-efficient their operation, can never erase the embodied carbon of their construction. Repurposing existing buildings, by contrast, extends their lifespan and makes use of the materials already locked within them. The UK is full of inspiring examples. Liverpool’s Tobacco Dock, once the largest brick-built warehouse in the world when completed in 1901, is now being converted into residential accommodation. At Here East in Stratford, structures originally built for the 2012 London Olympics are being adapted for new uses, from the V&A’s Storehouse collections centre to community and education spaces.

These transformations show that warehouses need not become stranded assets. With imagination and investment, they can evolve, housing new functions while preserving historical fabric and avoiding the emissions associated with demolition and rebuilding.

The lesson for policymakers, developers, and operators alike is clear: new build is rarely the most sustainable path. Retrofitting existing facilities, whether by adding renewables, improving energy performance, or repurposing them entirely, delivers carbon savings, preserves heritage, and demonstrates environmental responsibility to all stakeholders. For the warehousing sector, retrofit isn’t just an environmental necessity; it’s a strategic opportunity to future-proof our built environment and the industry that depends on it.