Paul Shaffer, Director of Policy and Projects, CIWEM and BeFloodReady
Flood resilience does not start with a flood door, a resilient floor or a pump. It starts with awareness.
For more than a decade, research commissioned by Defra, the Environment Agency and others has consistently shown that one of the biggest challenges in improving Property Flood Resilience (PFR) is not necessarily the availability of solutions, but helping people understand their risk and empowering them to take action. Many people underestimate their flood risk or assume flooding is a one-off event that happens to others.
Behavioural research has shown that people are more likely to take action when they understand both the consequences of flooding and the practical measures available to them. Importantly, studies found that people who completed a flood plan demonstrated greater confidence, preparedness and understanding of what to do before and during a flood event.
Complementing this flood groups, community champions and local flood plans help people move from being passive recipients of information to active participants in managing risk. Resilience is strongest when communities are engaged in shaping solutions rather than simply receiving information about them
This people-centred approach sits at the heart of FloodReady: An Action Plan to Build the Resilience of People and Properties (Defra, 2025), which calls for greater awareness, stronger preparedness and improved access to trusted information to help people make informed decisions about flood resilience. CIWEM’s BeFloodReady Community of Practice is a key part of making this information available.
Turning understanding into action
Awareness alone is not enough. People also need practical ways to understand how vulnerable their property is and what actions could make it more resilient.
This is where Flood Performance Certificates (FPCs) have the potential to be transformative.
As set out in Flood Re’s roadmap, FPCs are intended to provide property owners with a clear understanding of how their home is likely to perform during a flood, bringing together information about flood risk, building characteristics and resilience measures in a format that supports informed decision-making.
The concept draws on lessons from behavioural science. Research consistently
shows that people are more likely to act when information is understandable, relevant and linked to practical next steps (this needs to be presented in terms that mean something to them, i.e. will their garden be flooded, what depths flooding may occur). Flood Performance Certificates could provide a much-needed bridge between awareness and action by helping people understand not only their risk, but also the opportunities available to improve resilience that should be aligned with the Code of Practice for PFR and implemented by professionals on the Specialist Register for PFR Professionals.
Growing momentum behind flood performance certificates
Momentum behind flood performance certificates has accelerated significantly during the past year.
At Flood & Coast 2026, Minister Hardy announced that Flood Re will pilot Flood Performance certificates for new-build. This commitment, highlighted in the Ministerial statement and subsequently reported by the insurance press, marks an important step in moving FPCs from concept to real-world application.
The pilot reflects growing recognition that there remains a significant visibility gap around property-level resilience. While information about flood risk is increasingly available, there is currently no consistent way to understand, communicate or compare the resilience performance of individual properties. Many discussions around resilience highlight the challenge that insurers, lenders, homeowners and developers have around understanding the resilience measures built into homes, particularly new-build developments.
This challenge was anticipated in Flood Re’s original roadmap. While standards, guidance and resilience products have developed considerably over recent years, there remains no widely recognised method for communicating the benefits of resilience measures to householders or the wider property market.
Building the evidence base
The development of flood performance certificates is being supported by a growing programme of research.
Recent work undertaken by RAB Consultants and Sedgwick for Flood Re (Standard Property Flood Resilience Data for Flood Performance Certificates) has explored the information required to create a practical and scalable assessment methodology. The research examined how flood hazard, routes of water ingress, property vulnerability and resilience measures could be combined within a consistent certification framework.
Flood Re has also commissioned Ardent to explore how flood performance certificates might support resilience within the planning system and improve outcomes for new developments. The report: Flood Performance Certificates in the planning system, identifies opportunities to encourage a more consistent approach to flood resilience in new-build housing and to ensure adaptation is considered throughout the property lifecycle, not simply after flooding has occurred.
A tool for a more resilient future
Ultimately, the value of Flood Performance Certificates is not the certificate itself. It is what the certificate enables in terms of better information, improved communication and greater confidence in resilience measures.
Flood Performance Certificates offer an opportunity to make resilience visible. They can help householders understand the actions available to them, provide greater confidence when investing in resilience measures and create a common language that can be understood across the property, insurance and financial sectors.
As flood risk continues to evolve, helping people understand not only the likelihood of flooding but also the resilience of their property will become increasingly important. The evidence from behavioural science, community resilience research and the emerging work on flood performance certificates all points to the same conclusion: lasting resilience is built when awareness leads to preparedness, and preparedness leads to action.
For the future there are opportunities (and a growing need) to link flood resilience with other aspects of climate adaptation in terms of energy performance and thermal comfort.
There is also a massive role for digital innovation in this space. As Flood Performance Certificates develop, there is growing potential for digital platforms and mobile phone apps to help householders access, update and engage with resilience information throughout the life of a property. Tools such as Resilico demonstrate how technology may help people better understand flood risk and resilience measures, while encouraging ongoing awareness, preparation and engagement rather than a “fit and forget” approach. Such innovations could become an important part of the wider ecosystem needed to support informed decision-making and long-term resilience.