RICS Future
In response to a rapidly changing world The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has identified three key areas of change for the profession:
1. Sustainable 21st Century
2. Adaption to new Technology
3. Developing new skills and educational reform
The surveying profession is responding to significant changes across the built and natural environment. RICS continues to focus on three closely connected areas that will shape the future of professional practice: sustainability, technology and data, and the skills needed by the next generation of surveying professionals.
These themes also underpin the approach taken by Sustain Surveying.
Sustainability
Sustainability is increasingly embedded across professional surveying practice. RICS describes sustainability as central to modern surveying practice, recognising that decisions concerning land, property, construction and investment have environmental, social and economic consequences.
In 2026, RICS published Sustainability practice for surveyors, providing a holistic framework for applying sustainability across surveying disciplines. RICS is also piloting a new Sustainability Advisory (MRICS) pathway, reflecting the growing importance of strategic sustainability expertise across the built and natural environment.
The pathway includes areas such as climate risk and resilience, sustainable finance and investment, natural systems, social value, circularity and low-carbon technologies, and recognises sustainability advice operating at project, portfolio and policy levels.
Technology, AI and Data
Digital technology continues to transform surveying practice. Artificial intelligence, data analytics, digital twins and other emerging technologies are changing how information about land, buildings and assets is collected, interpreted and used in professional decision-making.
RICS research identifies advanced digital tools, including AI and machine learning, as the leading emerging skills priority for surveyors, alongside data analytics and sustainability.
RICS is responding through initiatives including a developing Data Analytics and Intelligence (MRICS) pathway and work on the responsible use of artificial intelligence in surveying practice. The emphasis is not simply on adopting new technology, but on ensuring that it is used responsibly while maintaining professional judgement, accountability and public trust.
Future Skills and Professional Practice
The skills required of surveyors will continue to evolve alongside changes in technology, sustainability, regulation and client expectations.
The RICS Surveying Skills Report 2025 identified advanced digital tools, sustainability and decarbonisation, data analytics, climate resilience and adaptation among the important emerging capabilities for the profession.
RICS is responding by evolving its education, qualification and continuing professional development frameworks. From 2026, sustainability and AI, data and technology form part of the mandatory areas of continuing professional development for RICS professionals.
New professional pathways in Sustainability Advisory, Residential Retrofit Surveying, and Data Analytics and Intelligence are also being piloted in response to emerging areas of professional practice.
An Evolving Profession
Taken together, these developments point towards a surveying profession that is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary, sustainability-focused and technologically enabled.
The traditional expertise of surveyors in land, property, construction, valuation and the management of the built and natural environment remains fundamental. Increasingly, however, that expertise will be combined with sustainability knowledge, climate awareness, digital capability, data analysis and the ability to respond to complex environmental and societal challenges.
Sustain Surveying follows these developments and explores what they mean for professional practice across Land, Property and Construction.
Useful Links:
RICS - Sustainability practice for surveyors
RICS - New professional pathways
RICS - Surveying Skills Report 2025
RICS - Responsible use of AI in surveying practice
