Rental living pioneer Moda Living has unveiled plans to drive the UK’s biggest property conference towards a net zero future, giving attendees at UKREiiF the opportunity to offset the carbon from their journeys to Leeds in an industry-first initiative with a brand new addition to this year’s event: The Moda Bar.

Located in the Food and Drink Avenue at Leeds Docks and supported by UKREiiF, the Moda Bar will allow people travelling to the event from the UK to add a contribution to the cost of their drinks which will be spent directly on offsetting carbon emissions from the collective delegation’s journeys to the event.*

Based on initial data from delegate registration, it would take approximately 30,000 trees or equivalent offsetting projects worth £30,000 to neutralise the impact of UK delegates’ travel to the conference, taking place at Leeds Docks between 16 and 18 May. Moda will be working with an official carbon offsetting partner to allocate the funds raised to meaningful projects to protect the environment across the globe. Moda will not derive profit from the Moda Bar, running the project for its ESG benefits as part of its Next Generation Futures ESG programme.

A live display mounted on the bar will track UKREiiF’s progress in this offsetting mission in a collective, industry-wide effort to make the UK’s biggest built environment event the first to have a carbon neutral impact from domestic travel to the event.

Moda is also welcoming businesses sending large delegations to the conference to make a donation to offset the impact of their travel to UKREiiF. Those interested in doing so should contact Emma.shone@modaliving.com.

Moda is working with events partner New Citizen to run the Moda Bar – the business behind music festivals including Hacienda, Defected and The Garden Party, all located at Moda and New Citizens’ Canvas Yard open air venue in Leeds. The bar will serve a mix of hot, soft and alcoholic drinks, all of which delegates will be able to purchase and enjoy while reducing the carbon footprint of their journeys.

Moda Living Founding Director Oscar Brooks said: “We’re so excited to welcome the industry back to our home city of Leeds, but even more excited that we have this opportunity with UKREiiF to drive the event towards a net zero carbon future.  As an industry we need to work strategically and collaboratively to offset the climate impact of our businesses. Working with UKREiiF, we were keen to find a way to make this urgent work engaging and exciting, to complement the activities we are already running at the event.  

“This ethos underpins Moda’s ESG programme Next Generation Futures, which we’re using to drive Moda towards Net Zero Operational Carbon by 2030 among other targets, by being creative and innovative in the way we approach social and environmental sustainability challenges and working closely with partners to build the brightest possible futures for generations to come.”

UKREiiF Operations Director Louise Eyre added: “Our ambition has always been to create a more inclusive and sustainable event in comparison to alternatives which tend to take place overseas. A UK-based event that brings investors, developers, local authorities and the wider industry together is already a great move forward, but to have partners like Moda Living who are willing to drive forward the sustainability agenda with us is fantastic and we thank them for their innovative initiative that we’ll be supporting throughout the event.

“This is one of many different programmes in place to ensure that UKREiiF sets an example – and successfully achieving ISO 20121 Sustainable Events Management Accreditation in our inaugural year showcases our commitment to being at the forefront of creating more sustainable events.”

The Moda Bar is one of a number of events and initiatives Moda Living is running at UKREiiF 2023. Taking a Pavilion with parent group Caddick Group for the second year running, Moda is running a series of content sessions, discussions and networking events at the Places for Life Pavilion in the Innovation Zone.

Highlights throughout the week include a first look at exclusive new research from Moda and Knight Frank around measuring social value and resident experience in build-to-rent neighbourhoods, a panel with Birmingham City Council and the city’s lead developers on the regeneration framework Birmingham will launch at the event, and even a chance to hop on a Peloton bike and put some pedal power into even more carbon offsetting initiatives from Moda with the UKREiiF Cycle Challenge.

Moda will also be hosting its annual fringe event at its flagship build-to-rent neighbourhood Moda, New York Square, which will celebrate a year since its doors opened during the event.